How many carbs for weight loss / fat loss goals?

Carbs are controversial.

"Cut them out to lose weight. But then that messes with your thyroid and doesn't that affect weight loss?"



Let's chat ...



Carbohydrates are 1 of the 3 macronutrients we eat (the other 2 being protein and fat). They are ALL important and all behave a bit differently in our body. 



Carbohydrates and fat are predominantly used up as fuel for energy. Whatever extra we take in that's not used up will be stored as fat. This is a GREAT thing as it allows us to then use up some of our storage to be able to sleep without having to wake up to eat, to go several hours between meals, and allowed our ancestors to go long periods of time without eating during a famine.



Protein can be used as fuel if absolutely necessary, but isn't what our body prefers to do and isn't what happens for the most part. Protein is mostly used as building blocks to MAKE things (like muscle, collagen in our skin, etc.).



So back to carbs. We don't have much storage capacity for carbs but nearly limitless storage capacity for fat (our fat cells can both multiply as well as increase in size, individually). When we take in carbs, it appears in our bloodstream as it makes its way to the places that need it. If we have adequate muscle mass and challenge our muscles frequently through something like strength training, we would have depleted some of the glycogen (carb storage) in them so some of the carbs we just onboarded will go there so our muscles are topped off and ready for our next workout. Our brain uses some 'carbs' for fuel. Fun fact: our brain actually uses up quite a lot of our total energy every day! Our liver can store some glycogen (stored carbs) too. If those places were already full -- maybe because we're sedentary or eat too many carbs for our needs -- or if we onboarded more than we had available storage space for, the rest will be stored as fat.



So, if fat loss is a goal, getting your carb strategy dialed in IS really important. You'll also want to make sure you have your fat and protein strategy dialed in. I believe this shouldn't come with obsessive macro or calorie tracking. I'm always thinking about mental health and lifestyle enjoyment as well as physical health and I hope you are too!



But today's note is about carbs so let's get back to it.



Since too many carbs is definitely not a good idea for someone with fat loss goals, then should you just cut out ALL carbs to super-charge results?



NO! Not if you ask me. And since you did ask me :-P ....


Cutting out all carbs might be a great idea for some people sometimes as it can be an important part of their medical treatment plan (epilepsy, brain injury, etc.), but even then it's often not a permanent solution. For MOST people MOST of the time, cutting out all carbs will move you further away from your goals in the long run.



Carbohydrate-rich foods are often full of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients ... many we know about but others that are sure to come out in the future. Meaning, there are probably lots of important nutrients we're getting through carb-rich foods that we aren't even aware of yet (so couldn't even think about just trying to replace in a supplement or something). Think: fruit, veggies, beans, certain fermented foods ...


Carbs taste great and most people who cut them out entirely end up feeling deprived and / or end up fearing them or losing control around them from time-to-time. We want a healthy relationship with food and our body.


Many carbohydrate foods are high in fiber, and that helps us to blunt the blood sugar spike, help us feel satiated, feed our microbiome, and aid in detoxification by keeping us more regular in the bathroom.


Going too low carb can inhibit thyroid function (making it harder to lose excess body fat), impact mood and interfere with sleep, due to the role it plays in certain neurotransmitter production.


If we don't consume carbs through our food, our body will convert some energy over to a form of carbs. So basically, no one ever actually goes without carbs. You either eat 'em or you make 'em.


And plus ... avocado toast is too tasty to be off the table!


So, how much is enough but not too much if your goal is fat loss (or "toning up")?


I recommend a baseline of 2 intentional carb servings per day for everyone. That means that's the floor. Start there. If you're very active, have a lot of muscle, are a man, are a tall woman, have hypothryoidism or elevated cortisol ... you will likely need to add at least another intentional carb serving. Maybe even more. Please note this is *highly* individualized! We're talking about fuel here. Some of you are 4-cylinder cars parked in your driveway all day. Some of you are gas-guzzlers drag racing almost all day. Wildly different gas budgets, right?? Similarly, carb intake needs will vary A LOT depending on your specific situation.



"What the heck is an intentional carb serving?"



I call them intentional carbs, well, intentionally. The reason is with this macro aware approach (rather than macro tracking), we're not thinking about your side of broccoli with dinner that had a couple of grams of carbs or your piece of cheese or handful of nuts that did too. When I say intentional carb serving, I mean you're sitting down to an actual serving of carbs. You're having a piece of bread, a piece of fruit, some beans and corn, a potato, a half a cup of pasta, etc. You can think of this as being about 25-35 grams of net carbohydrates at a sitting. Net carbs = total carbs minus fiber.


To avoid blood sugar spikes (which is something to be mindful of if you have fat loss goals or even just health optimization goals), you're going to want to have these servings of intentional carbs inside of a meal that also has plenty of protein, fat and fiber. 


So in summary ... have the bun with the burger and veggies. But maybe save the fries to have with another meal. At least most of the time. ;-)



XO,
Tara



P.S. If you haven't yet signed up for a previous round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind, make sure you hop on the waitlist for the September round. We cover nutrition balance and fat loss in so much detail! 


P.P.S. I told you I'd update you on TRANSFORM: 1:1, so here goes: it's ready and the first group will be onboarding the rest of THIS week! Spots are always super limited with 1-on-1 coaching as it is customized to your unique needs, goals, injuries, health history, and a very high touch program with tons of accountability baked in, but the good news is I have current clients who were already working with me who are continually graduating out of their program. So if you are interested in 1-on-1 coaching, hop on the interested list! I'll reach out and provide some insight about availability and potential timing as well as answer any questions you may have. :-)

Summer Popsicle Recipe Collection

Most popsicles are like my trolls...

Cold on the inside and 90% artificial. 



HAHA! Heard that joke as "my wife is" and you know I had to switch that up. ;-)



If you've been checking out this blog for at least a year, you might remember that I shared a popsicle recipe collection last year around this time. If you missed it, no worries because I'm sharing all of those with you today AND SEVEN MORE that I just added. Most of the recipes that call for added sweetener like maple syrup are delicious without it too so feel free to dial that down if you'd like. Many are still indulgences, so just keep that in mind! And while they are all cold on the inside, these treats are the real deal -- nothing artificial about 'em.


Popsicle 2023 Recipe Collection


Printer-friendly (no pictures) version



Which one are you gonna try first? Tag me in your pictures if you make these! I wanna see. :-)



Can you believe the unofficial kickoff to Summer is here already?? I'll be half partying / enjoying and half working. With TRANSFORM: Body + Mind in session now plus my new, revamped 1:1 coaching program about to make it's debut to those who first signed up for the interested list (with more openings to come in the near future), there's so much happening behind-the-scenes here at Tara Allen Health! 



Hope you have a very happy Memorial Day Weekend.



XO,
Tara

If at first you don't succeed, cancel your skydiving plans

“Optimist: someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it’s more like a cha-cha.” Robert Brault

Last week I hosted a workshop inside The After Party (the monthly membership available to everyone after TRANSFORM: Body + Mind) all about The Positivity Edge (but like, grounded in real life). If you caught that, you might enjoy a summary of the biggest takeaways today and if you missed it, I'm hoping today's newsletter leaves you feeling hopeful, more in control of your life, and normal! Mindset is something we could all make some progress with.



Happiness researchers (yes, that's really a job) have concluded a few really important things we now get to take and try on for ourselves. Those who report being most successful in achieving their goals (be it health goals, financial goals, relationship goals) were found to spend most of their thinking time on what they want and how to get it. Goals, priorities, their own actions, their own behaviors, you get the idea. This can be classified as "positive thinking". Those who report having difficulty achieving or maintaining their goals were found to spend a large amount of time thinking about what they don't want, things that make them sad, angry or frustrated, past events they can't control and who to blame for various things. This is referred to as "negative thinking". The best part? We're not destined to be positive or negative thinkers. We can actually shift our thinking at any time in our life.



Whoa! Right? But also ... makes sense. When we adopt more positive thinking, we tend to take more positive action and tend to get more positive results -- a.k.a. achieve our goals. We also just feel a heck of a lot better more often. Not a bad 'side effect'.



Just so we're clear, I'm saying in order to achieve and maintain your health + body composition goals, shifting to a more positive mindset will be an important factor (if not THE MOST important factor).



"Great, Tara. But how do I do that? And also, WTF? Do you live on planet Earth?"



Let me share some tips. And the last few ones really address the fact that this DOES NOT mean it's gonna be all rainbows + butterflies + well-behaved kids all the time. ;-)



1. Positive health habits. Come on, you saw that one coming from a mile away. LOL But it really does affect your ability to keep the right mindset and build momentum on your goals. Focus on the biggest needle-movers first and most: sleep, nutrition, fitness, movement, sunshine / nature, rest + relaxation + fun. As Vince Lombardi says, "Fatigue makes cowards of us all."


2. Positive self talk. Tune into your inner dialogue. Did the mean girls take over? Kick them out. Use affirmations like "I can do this", "I like myself" or even "I'm learning to like + care for myself". Add the word "yet" when you say things like, "I can't do this" or "I don't know how". I can't do this YET. I don't know how YET.


3. Positive people. As much as you can, reduce or eliminate the negative people in your life (or at least the amount of interactions you have with them). ADD positive people in. This could mean you spend more time with a friend you find really uplifting and less time with a friend that tends to drag you down. It could mean that you connect with positive people on social media who are making something out of their life or working on similar goals. It could mean that you join a new volunteer project, book club, dance class, or anything where you're drawn to the energy of the other people.


4. Positive visualization. There's another workshop in The After Party that I want those of you who are in it to go check out. It's a visualization workshop from back in the Fall. Otherwise, here's what I want you to do: see your goals as if they are already accomplished. Picture a year from now in the best way possible, dreaming so big it might embarrass you to say it out loud. Imagine all the details -- what time do you wake up? What do you put on? How do you feel? What do you do in the mornings? What do you eat? Replay this over and over like a movie. You control the movie in your mind and you won't be able to help but to start to ACT like her (or him).


5. Positive content. No news on in the background. No social media accounts that make you feel crappy about yourself. Fill that space instead with accounts, books, articles that are educational, inspirational, funny or uplifting. You still get to watch your Bravo TV and read your trashy novels. That's just for fun, right? But make sure you're taking inventory on what you're inputting the rest of the time. Dedicate time to consuming things that help you become better and more effective, whatever you want that to mean for you. It does pretty incredible things for our confidence.


6. Positive outlook with a realistic lens. Be prepared for the best to happen. Be prepared to achieve your goals and then some. Be prepared for your meeting or your day or that conversation to go really well. There is more chance it actually will. And if it doesn't, that's ok too and was always one of the possibilities.


7. Be aware of your negative bias. If you have a really bad 5 minutes in your day, do you say it was a bad day? If your day was pretty crappy except for 5 really good minutes, would you classify that as a good day? Most of us -- because of the way we were wired for survival -- overemphasize the bad and tend to not linger too long on the good. As humans, w can expect the full spectrum of human emotions (happy, excited, joyful, love, and also anger, frustration, despair, guilt...). We can also assume sometimes we are going to get sick, our kids are going to get sick, we're going to get a flat tire, there will be terrible and unexpected traffic, some big appliance in the house will break at the worst time, we'll lose power, etc. Even though we don't know when those things are coming, we know they're coming! Just all part of the human experience. How well would you like to be able to roll with the punches? How do you want to show up on the sunny days? And how about on the rainy days?


8. Negative emotions are in for dinner and out by dessert. We all experience the negative suite of emotions but often we fear those emotions and repress them, never fully allowing them to move through us. Invite your negative emotions to the table. They get a seat too. Feel them, explore them, cry, yell on purpose, sing, dance, vent to a friend, journal ... and then kick them out before dessert. You can even set a timer here. Give yourself 5-10 minutes to wallow in that self pity but when you hear the ding, it's time to move on.


9. Lean on gratitude. You cannot feel a negative emotion and gratitude at the same time so use that to your advantage! If you need to move past some negative stuff after allowing yourself to feel it, start thinking about or writing down the things you're grateful for in this very moment. Be specific as that impacts our mindset the most. Rather than say, "I'm grateful for my family and friends.", say, "I'm grateful that I was able to take a walk this morning with my kids out in the sunshine."


10. Always find a win and when you can't, make sure you do. Seriously! If you can't find a win, challenge yourself even harder to find something you're proud of or something good in the situation, even if tiny. Maybe you didn't stick to your nutrition or fitness goals AT ALL today, but did you go to bed at a good time or drink some water? Maybe you haven't noticed signs of fat loss yet but has your energy improved? Maybe you got a flat and have to wait for AAA to come while everyone is waiting for you to come home and set up for your daughter's birthday party but do you now have an unexpected 30 minutes of 'me time' in the car? (Based on a true story. LOL) Training yourself to find wins -- especially when they're not so obvious -- is like training your muscles. You'll get stronger with more reps.



And with that, go have yourself an awesome day!!



XO,
Tara



P.S. TLDR: Having a positive mind is one of the most important factors that determine whether or not you can achieve your goals. You can be a positive person and still live in the real world and be a human with the full spectrum of human emotions. Mindset isn't fixed and can be upgraded. You got this!

In a lunch rut?

Breakfast is a smoothie or egg situation, dinner is protein, veggie and a starch. Lunch is … confusing? Boring? Leftovers?

In case you need to change it up a little, I made a PFF-balanced lunch collection of 5 recipes for you to check out. Plant-based and omnivore options. All happen to be gluten-free too. These are balanced with just the right amount of protein, fat and fiber to help with fat loss, muscle-building, and “toning up” goals.

Speaking of … are you on the waitlist for TRANSFORM: Body + Mind?? If so, look out for an email from me tomorrow - or later today as I sometimes like to jump the gun ;-) - with the link to sign up. The cart will be open for just 1 week and this is the last round until the Fall, so if you have summer goals of feeling incredible, strong, fit and healthy this year, THIS is your round. Brand new info … with a note from your doctor mentioning a diagnosis with a recommendation for “weight loss”, you might be able to use your FSA or HSA for the cost of TRANSFORM!

XO,

Tara

Dehydration and fat loss resistance?

If fat loss (or "toning up") is your goal, can dehydration be getting in your way?

The short answer is yes. There are many reasons why and I'm going to share some of those here today with you.



1) High levels of glucose can be converted into fructose (which favors fat storage rather than active energy production first and then fat storage). A few things to dissect here. This means if you consume sugar (which is 50% glucose and 50% fructose) or anything with high fructose corn syrup (like soda), you don't have to just deal with fat gain if there's an excess of calories. You'll be encouraging fat gain simply from consuming them. It also means if you're dehydrated, your body will likely get better at fat storage. This is because fat storage isn't just to store energy for later, it stores and releases water later too. So, dehydration makes your body better at fat storage on purpose as a survival mechanism. Think: the humps on a camel's back which are fat storage and serve the purpose of supplying water when broken down and in desert environments.


2) We become more resistant to leptin (meaning, we don't feel full when we 'should') when we're dehydrated. We get fluids from many foods we eat so if we're not drinking enough, our body wants us to eat more and it'll affect the hormones that tell your body whether it's hungry or full just to make that happen.


3) We use water for all of our cellular processes. If we have even just slightly less than we need, things will slow down to conserve. Metabolism slows. And good luck convincing your brain to do anything but sit still and watch Netflix then!


4) Activity performance, endurance, speed and strength all decrease with even slight dehydration. Your workouts then become less effective. 


5) Dehydration often leads to elevated cortisol levels, which tell the body to store more fat when it becomes a chronic issue so there's fast energy available for future 'high stress' moments. The preferred storage place for this fat is in the belly area.


So, what can be done about it?



For most people, most of the time, aiming to drink half your body weight in lbs in ounces of water per day is a great place to work up to. In fact, you can use a body weight you feel most comfortable at to determine this calculation because excess body fat isn't very metabolically active and doesn't require a whole bunch of extra fluid intake. Example: if you're 200 lbs but feel best around 150 lbs, use 150 lbs. Divide that by 2. That equals 75. If no contraindications, you can aim to get about 75 ounces of water per day.



What counts? I count caffeinated beverages as a wash but count water, seltzer, decaf coffee, decaf tea, and smoothies as part of my intake.



What else? Minerals / electrolytes determine whether or not our water intake mostly passes right through us or actually gets taken into our cells to hydrate them on the inside. Nailing this part down can help some people feel SO much better, more energy, less headaches, etc. If you eat out a lot or eat a bunch of processed food, you might be overdoing the sodium. But if you eat mostly real foods and cook for yourself and don't salt your food -- especially if you also sweat frequently -- there's a good chance you're not getting enough sodium. And it's not just sodium! It's also potassium, magnesium, chloride, calcium, phosphate ...



You have to come up with the best strategy for you and that'll depend on lots of variables! Be sure to run things by a trusted healthcare provider. I, personally, include electrolytes like LMNT or Relyte pretty much daily and feel a big difference in doing so. I might only have 1/2 serving if it's a day I'm not sweating much and 1 - 1.5 servings on a heavy sweating day (like a sauna sesh). You can also make your own electrolyte drinks at home without needing to buy any special products. I just highly recommend avoiding products like Gatorade or Powerade as much as possible because of ingredients like dye, flavor, sugar, artificial sugar, etc.



So drink up. Get minerals. And remove that barrier to fat loss (or just enjoy health optimization if fat loss isn't your goal)!



XO,
Tara



P.S. The waitlist for TRANSFORM: Body + Mind will be open for only 2 more weeks!! Hop on it if you're interested in doing this pre-summer round. I'm only running this course 1 more time in 2023 and it'll be in the Fall. This 28-day metabolism-boosting course is for those with fat loss, muscle-building or "toning up" goals who want to improve their health at the same time. Check out this link for details.

Mouth, hair, and skin stuff

Deviating from our 'normal' content today except....

One, there is no normal content. You voluntarily came to my blog and can therefore be subject to whatever random note I want to leave each week. Haha!



And two, the stuff we're getting into today isn't a real deviation from our health and metabolism topics at all since many of these are addressing cellular health and getting to the root of the issue.



Where possible, I'll be sharing links for you to check out. Some of the direct links get you a discount on your order (and bring me a very small commission), some require you to enter the code, and others are just regular ol' links to make things easier for you if you're in the market for anything we're chatting about. Much of today's newsletter is about our behaviors / habits, so there will be no links for those. ;-)



Please keep in mind we are all in different places with different incomes, goals, and priorities. My hope is only ever to supply knowledge and helpful tips without ever wanting to make you feel the need to buy something. Many of the things I'll be sharing today are free, but some are also quite pricey! If all you do is start to implement the free or super low cost stuff I share about here or in any of my other newsletters, there's so much potential in that. <3



Let's start with oral care, shall we?



Here's what I do for my mouth:

• Floss with Risewell (code: Allen10 for 10% off) hydroxyapatite floss. Their version doesn't contain any toxins (like the Teflon that's in most floss) and also contains hydroxyapatite to help remineralize between the teeth.

• Tongue scrape every morning with a stainless steel tongue scraper.

• Brush at least 2x a day with Risewell (code: Allen10) hydroxyapatite toothpaste. Again, no toxins and uses hydroxyapatite instead of fluoride to remineralize teeth. Fluoride is a neurotoxin that crosses the blood-brain barrier, isn't water soluble (so doesn't break down very well in our body), can calcify parts of our body like the pineal gland, is starting to look like it affects liver and kidney health, and can lower IQ. Even though it strengthens teeth, we now thankfully have a safer alternative.

• I skip all traditional mouthwash. Mouthwash is a disinfectant and unless we're talking about cleaning tools prior to surgery, we don't want disinfectants on or in our body. This kills beneficial bacteria and throws off our oral microbiome. One such effect is that we lose the ability to produce as much nitric oxide as we want to. This affects metabolism, blood pressure, blood sugar management, and a whole host of other things.

• Oil pulling. This I only do sometimes, when I remember. I take a tablespoon or 2 of coconut oil and swish it around in my mouth for a few minutes and then spit in the garbage (it can clog plumbing). This helps balance our oral microbiome in a favorable way and can even help whiten teeth.

• Occasionally, I'll add some activated charcoal to my toothpaste and brush with it. It helps remove stains and whitens teeth.

• Mouth tape. At night (when lip balm doesn't win the battle), I use mouth tape to help ensure nasal breathing. This has many health and metabolism benefits, improves sleep quality, and also helps prevent cavities and crooked teeth. You don't need a special product though. You can just use a small piece of medical grade tape instead.

Next up, hair stuff:

• I don't have a certain shampoo or conditioner I'm married to yet (I've tried so many), but I keep trying new ones. I currently have Rowe Casa's shampoo and conditioner bars on the way and if I like it as much as I enjoy their other stuff, it might be a match made in Heaven. If you try any of their products and use code TARAALLEN you'll get 20% off your first order and 10% off any order after that.

• Protein intake is very important for hair health! Making sure I'm getting .8 - 1g of protein per lb of a body weight I feel most comfortable at, per day is a goal I keep top of mind.

• Collagen can be extra helpful as it's just a few certain amino acids (proteins) in a certain combination and even though our body breaks it down during digestion, the building blocks are all there so it can be reassembled post-digestion and help with hair (and skin, nails, connective tissue, and gut health). These collagen peptides are a great option. Use code TARA_ALLEN_HEALTH for 20% off. A gelatinous bone broth (either store bought or homemade) is another great source. If you're plant based, you can try this one.

• When I get 30 seconds uninterrupted in the bathroom (so once a year or so), I brush my hair a little longer and focus on my scalp to increase blood circulation. Scalp massages would help with this too.

• Another circulation trick is to include some inversions into your day or week. Handstands, headstands, or even just carefully hang upside down off the end of your couch for a minute or two gives your head / scalp area a nice little boost in circulation. Exercise does too. ;-)

• Once upon a time I used to wash my hair daily. This made my hair more brittle and even more oily as I was stripping away the natural oils too often so my body was compensating. Now, I'm down to washing my hair just 2-4 times per week and I've noticed some positive changes from this.

• I'm turning 40 in 2 months and have definitely pulled out a few grays already. I don't recommend that strategy but I'm just being honest. Pretty soon I'll have to stop so I don't end up plucking out all of my hair! One thing I've found so interesting is the relationship between zinc, copper, and gray hair. When the ratios are off and we're taking in much more zinc than copper, our hair seems to gray even faster. Do with that as you may, but just be sure to run any supplementation changes by a trusted healthcare provider beforehand. Seriously. You can do a lot of damage if it's not the right thing for YOU, the right amount, the right balance, or from a trusted and 3rd party-tested brand.

• SLEEP. In general, we accumulate damage and "aging" during the day and can partially reverse damage and "aging" with enough high-quality sleep.

Last but certainly not least, some random skin things:

• I have been using Crunchi skin products and makeup for probably 5-7 years now and love the way they are non-toxic, hold up well, and smell nice but not strong as I'm very sensitive to scents. Of course there are no false fragrances either.

• No toxic sunscreens. My goal is to get enough sun but not too much. I think either extreme is a big risk. If I'll be out in the sun for a while or right in the middle of the day, I'll cover up or use mineral sunscreen. One of my favorites is from Rowe Casa. Code: TARAALLEN

• Dry brushing helps with lymphatic drainage and detoxifying, can improve the sweat response (so I'll do it before a sauna or hot bath), and exfoliates the skin.

• Caffeine interferes with collagen production, so no coffee overload for me. Coffee, yes. Coffee overload, no.

• The amount of research that has been mounting about the benefits of red light and infrared light therapy is pretty astonishing. We have a personal, low-EMF infrared sauna that I use as well as the Lumebox which is a portable device and perfect for the face! Red light can help with many things (like pain and metabolism) but in terms of skin, it helps boost collagen, helping with wrinkles and improves skin conditions like acne, rosacea, and eczema. I love the Lumebox so much and even use it on the kids for certain things.

• Hydration, electrolytes (I love Relyte and LMNT brands), and plenty of healthy fats in your diet are super important for skin health.

• Collagen ... this is a biggie for skin as we lose collagen -- just like muscle -- year after year as we age. We can't prevent that entirely at this time, but we can certainly slow the process.

• Frownies like this and this. Our son told me the other night that my "11" lines on my forehead looked like one crooked domino was about to knock down the other straight domino. I laughed my butt off ... and then ordered frownies the next day. I've been meaning to check them out anyway and this was the reminder I needed. I, personally, am not into Botox or fillers so I really appreciate more natural and subtle solutions. Let's see how it goes! I'll keep you posted ... maybe up in my instagram stories or something.

• If you see me out in the summer during the daytime, I'll probably have a hat on. I have this one in 3 colors / patterns because I love how it allows for a high ponytail for the beach, pool, and workouts. I try to ensure I get enough sun on my face in the morning and evening when possible, but do try to avoid a bunch of direct sun to my face in the middle of the day. That wasn't the case most of my life though, plus I'm very expressive ... hence the domino contraption situation.

• Anything that boosts circulation is a great idea for skin health (as well as health health). This includes exercise, non-exercise movement, laying on this acupressure mat, heat exposure and cold exposure contrast therapy (switching back and forth between the heat and cold).

• One of my favorite drinks is mixing some filtered water with electrolytes and Organifi Glow (code TARAALLEN gets you 15% off) ... which is full of collagen pre-cursors. It tastes great but it also helps to give your body more of what it needs to synthesize its own collagen. This is different than just taking collagen.

• Ice bucket. I haven't tried this one yet but it's on my list to experiment with. Fill a big bowl with water and ice and dunk your face in it for a few seconds, a few times in a row. This should wake you up but also minimize the appearance of pores or puffy skin.

• SLEEP. Of course it makes its way into pretty much everything because it's THAT important.

Hope you found at least something here helpful!



Enjoy your week,
Tara



P.S. The next round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind starts next month! If you have fat loss, muscle-building, or "toning up" goals and want to achieve those goals while optimizing your health and feeling great day after day, make sure you hop on the waitlist now! Waitlist peeps reserve their spot and will get a discount code when the cart opens.

When I was sick ...

Once upon a time, I was a metabolic WRECK.

I had PCOS, prediabetes, insulin resistance, and hypothyroidism. Our infertility journey brought about tons of extra testing that let me know things like I was NEVER ovulating. My cycle was all over the place and I didn't feel well, despite living a seemingly "healthy" lifestyle.




But let's rewind to before I got diagnosed. (Warning: sensitive subject matter about infertility)



At some point I went from looking for answers to feeling so hopeless and desperate to become a mother that the focus became getting pregnant and no longer on my body or what was going wrong with it. It was quite a long and windy journey with all the interventions, tests, and heartbreaking outcomes. But then it worked! One of the rounds of IVF had been a success and we had our daughter, Magnolia. Fast forward a couple of years and more heartbreak but then another IVF success! Our son, Jagger. 



I was just a whisper pregnant when I went back to the fertility specialist. She was going to graduate me out of her care and into the care of my OBGYN that day, except she was off. Her colleague knocked on the door and introduced herself instead, my file in her hand. "Hi Tara, I'm ______. Congrats on the pregnancy! I see you have PCOS so ....." 



I'm not sure what she said after that because I was stuck on the whole PCOS thing. You see, I thought I had PCOS for years! I was studying all about women's health and hormones in grad school and everything seemed to fit with what I had been experiencing. But my doctor told me in no uncertain terms that I definitely did NOT have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome ... a condition affecting about 10% of women). So imagine my surprise when I realize that my doctor changed her mind about that at some point, diagnosed me, wrote it on my chart, but never told ME. 



What followed was a visit with my OBGYN where I disclosed my new diagnosis and went for further testing only to find out I was also prediabetic already. Now prediabetes isn't something that happens overnight. Prediabetes comes after YEARS or DECADES of insulin resistance and is almost always preventable, manageable or reversible with nutrition and lifestyle choices.



Then I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism! My doctor said, "Tara, your body REALLY wants to be overweight!" (Insert eye roll)



When that doctor suggested meds for life and mentioned that there's nothing I can do to make things better on my own, I said, "Hold my beer." I mean not exactly those words but you get the idea. And I pulled together what I knew about the human body and metabolism from my education and filled in the holes with up-to-date and quality research. And then I got to work.

• I started eating in a way to balance my blood sugar.

• I tweaked my exercise routine to put on more muscle.

• I wanted to prioritize sleep but was still in the toddler and newborn phases and breastfeeding 'round the clock so that had to wait.

• I started paying attention to stress, toxins in my products and food, grounding, sunshine, gut health, heat and cold exposure.

• I said, "If our behaviors can make certain conditions worse, then how is it possible that different choices can't make certain conditions better? Of course they can!" And I stayed focused on that ... and still am!

• I made sure to see it as the challenge and opportunity that it was. I'm not a victim, I'm LUCKY. Imagine if my body let me get away with more? I would've abused it more I'm sure!

I can no longer be diagnosed with any of those conditions, but you better believe they're still on my radar! Those are my Achilles heels. If I'm not careful (and maybe even if I am! Time will tell), those conditions can definitely resurface again.



The thing about boosting our metabolism and optimizing our health is that it's hard, never-ending work. It's not a '30-day fix' or '6 weeks to a summer body'. There are no pause buttons when life gets busy or restart buttons you can press on Monday after an indulgent holiday weekend. But it is SO freaking rewarding to say, "I did that. I did that even while life was happening. I did that even though it was hard. I did that even while keeping indulgences in."


There's a lifelong confidence that comes from overcoming obstacles. If you're facing one right now, it might just be the thing that brings you an unfaltering inner glow one day ... the kind that only trusting yourself could really ever create.



Metabolism is everything about our body's functions. When it's not up to speed, anything can crumble. When anything crumbles, it won't be up to speed. It's. All. Connected.



If you're feeling frustrated that you have a long ways to go or tempted by your sister's Optavia weight loss, your friend's Ozempic results and your cousin's Weight Watchers journey that "works everytime" (except ... why does she keep having to go back if it worked???), I want you to know I get it. Those things ARE tempting. But they aren't real results (weight loss is just a proxy for fat loss + muscle gain, not the same) and they can also be incredibly dangerous and backfire on you.


Let's do a little exercise, ok?



Tell me, how would you like to feel for the rest of this week?
Now, what is ONE thing you can focus on for the rest of this week that will help you feel that way?



Maybe you want to feel energized so you go for a walk outside every morning.
Maybe you want to feel strong so you strength train 3 days this week.
Maybe you want to feel calm so you commit to journaling for 10 minutes every morning or night.



Whatever it is, pick ONE feeling. Then ONE (reasonable) action. And see it through. Watch your momentum soar by the end of the week.



You got this,
Tara



P.S. If you want to learn more about how your body works best and how to boost your metabolism to achieve your fat loss, muscle-building, or "toning up" goals, hop on the waitlist for the next round of my 28-day metabolism-boosting course, TRANSFORM: Body + Mind. We start next month.

Healthified Easter and Passover Recipes

Easter and Passover are knocking on our door.

And just in case you're hosting or visiting and want to bring a dish, I wanted to share a couple of recipe collections with you. They won't all work. Some will have ingredients you are allergic to, don't eat, or don't feel like buying. They're not all PFF balanced and many are indulgences. Aaaand my hope is that at least 1 or 2 of these make their way into your belly and the bellies of your loved ones over the next couple of weeks. :-)



Here is the Easter Collection



Here is the Passover Collection



Hope you enjoy!



XO,
Tara

I like rollercoasters but not THIS kind

Could blood sugar imbalances be the reason for your ...

• weight loss resistance

• cravings

• energy crashes

• moodiness

• frequent illness / infections

I'd argue that it's very likely if you're experiencing one or more of the above. It's even more likely if you also have ...

• elevated Hgb A1c

• elevated blood pressure

• elevated blood sugar / insulin

• elevated triglycerides, Apo B, and / or LDL

• PCOS

Since the connection between poor blood sugar management and health / disease risk is a bit more known, I'm focusing on the connection with weight / fat gain and weight loss / fat loss resistance today.


In order to do that, I'd like to share a little more about the hormone called insulin and its important role in our body.


Insulin can be thought of like Uber drivers for your carbs / sugar intake. The more carbs / sugar around, the more drivers (insulin) get released from the pancreas to deal with it. Insulin picks up the carbs / sugar and drives it to a few places. First, it'll go to our muscles. But if our muscles are full of glycogen already (we haven't strength trained recently or don't have much muscle mass), it'll be driven to our liver. Our liver can hold a small amount of carb / sugar storage (glycogen). If it's full already (happens when you take in more than you use up), then whatever is leftover will be stored as fat.


Insulin is a GOOD thing as it allows us to avoid letting too much sugar hang out in our blood and cause damage and rather gives us the chance to use it up as fuel. The (VERY common) problem has become that we weren't educated on how to fuel ourselves properly and so most people are way overdoing the carbohydrates. Overdoing carbs over time means insulin is working overtime and becomes a bit less effective.


For a while -- and this is the sometimes decades long period in time where people are getting sick but don't yet know it -- insulin just gets cranked out more. More insulin keeps your blood sugar in check. Because your blood sugar may be in check, doctors may tell you your bloodwork is fine. What's often happening though is insulin resistance. Eventually, your insulin doing double and triple duty tires out and can't keep up with your blood sugar. THIS is when you might start to see changes in your bloodwork. It can show up as prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, cholesterol issues, non-alcohol fatty liver disease, frequent illness / infections.


But let's step back a minute. During all of those years or decades spent overusing insulin, our body usually still gives us some red flags. Excess body fat or fat loss resistance is often one of the first signs. Others include energy and mood dips, cravings, getting hangry ... ever, and hunger / fullness cues that are very out of whack.


Now you might say, "Tara, if it's really important not to overdue the carbs / sugar, maybe I should cut it all out?" And to that I'd say, "Don't!" Here's why. Our body uses "carbs" whether we eat them or not. If you go keto and stop eating them, your body will just manufacture its own through a process called gluconeogenesis. Doing that all the time can be pretty taxing on your body, dial up inflammation, down-regulate your thyroid (making fat loss harder eventually), and interfere with certain neuromodulators that assist with sleep and happy moods.


So when it comes to carbs, a moderate approach is really pretty darn important. Get enough, but not too much. 


"Great! WTH does that mean?"


I gotchu ;-)


Here are some things to start to implement so you can get to a happy place with your blood sugar and insulin:

1. Eat PFF at every meal. Protein, fat, fiber. These help to blunt blood sugar response and keep you nice and satisfied between meals -- which is important because we need some downtime between meals to allow insulin to come back down AND allow us to enter fat-burning mode most effectively.

2. Eat intentional carbs according to your needs. This won't be 10g carbs per day, but it's likely also not 300g carbs per day. You don't need to track every morsel of food, but plan to have a serving of carbs, on purpose, at 2-3 meals and not all day everyday,

3. Strength train 3-4 x per week. Muscles are like dry sponges that soak up some additional sugar out of our blood. Basically, the more muscle you have, the more storage room you have for carbs without it being stored as fat.

4. Movement. This isn't exercise, but rather how much you move your body outside of exercise and can have a big impact on helping to manage blood sugar. Move around more in general or be more targeted by taking a little walk or having a dance party after meals.

5. Sleep. When we're not sleeping enough, our blood sugar balance is thrown off even if all other things stay equal.

Of course there's more ... and we cover it all in detail in TRANSFORM: Body + Mind ... but these are some of the biggest needle-movers to get started with.



Before I let you go, I have to address the, "Isn't fat loss just a matter of being in a calorie deficit?" people out there. ;-) Kinda yes but kinda no.


Taking in slightly less energy than you're using up is how our body turns to our stored body fat to use it up as fuel (that's how it's "lost"). However, getting that equation to be in our favor for fat loss requires some blood sugar stability (otherwise your hunger and cravings alone will make it nearly impossible to be in a deficit for any real progress).


But also (and this is not as well-known), we can kinda lose excess body fat or really lose body fat. The most effective way to lose body fat also requires we get a handle on our blood sugar and insulin. Insulin is a storage hormone. If it's always elevated, body fat loss isn't being maximized ... even in a deficit. What this means is less weight will be lost or the same amount of weight will be lost, but less of it will be from body fat and more of it can come from things we don't want to lose, like muscle.



Leaving you off with an example of eating in this blood sugar balancing way. Read the caption of this instagram post for a few ideas.


XO,
Tara

You know all the right things to do but ...

"Tara, I know what to do. I'm just not doing it."

Ahh, yes. This is pretty common. Sometimes we truly know what to do but can't seem to stay consistent enough in order to make progress on our goals.



Is this you?



Here are some tips if you often find yourself "on track" only to be "off track" a few days later:



1)Why do you want to do any of this, anyway?


It helps a lot to stay mindful of your deeper why and reconnect to it as often as necessary. And pssst ... it's never about the weight loss or how you want to look in a bathing suit and if you think it is, you'll be much more likely to have trouble with consistency. Change is a big deal and takes up a bit of space in our brain. If your goals are registering as being an aesthetic-only kinda thing, your brain won't think that's important enough to go through all of the effort.


So go deeper. Do you want feel like you look better in a bathing suit  ... because it will make you feel more confident in your skin ... and you think you'll show up in a better mood to your relationship with your partner with that confidence?


Do you want to lose the 20 lbs ... because you want to model for your kids the importance of goal setting and sticking to your word to yourself?


Keep asking yourself why. "I want to lose 20 l bs." Why? "Because ......" Why? "Because ..." Get at least 4 - 5 whys deep and you might be pretty astonished by what comes out of your mouth. THAT is what you need to stay connected to. Write it down on post-its, journal about it, envision it every morning as if you're already there. Don't lose sight of it.


2) Are you making the process enjoyable?



Our brains are wired to seek pleasure and avoid pain wherever possible. What this means is that if you are making your health journey feel extra painful and / or it's lacking pleasure, you will likely have a ton of trouble with consistency.



Do you view exercise as punishment or a way to earn food? Do you tell yourself you need to hit a certain amount of calories burned on the treadmill before you can stop? Do you have strict timelines around when you expect to micromanage changes to occur in your body (like, "I need to be down 10 lbs by that trip or her wedding!")?



Do you ever tell yourself you were "good" or "bad" today? Are certain foods "good" or "healthy" and other foods are "bad"? Are you restricting yourself to a certain amount of calories per day or tracking every morsel of food by weighing or logging into a macro tracker? Are you weighing yourself and then getting disappointed anytime the scale doesn't move or goes up as if that means you're not making progress? Do you lose patience quickly?



These all register as being painful to our brains and they will significantly reduce the chances of you staying consistent.



Are you telling yourself you can't enjoy certain foods even if you eat them -- as if enjoying a cupcake is worse than just eating the cupcake and loving every bite of it? Are you telling yourself, "I really have to workout now" rather than feeling privileged to be able to move your body and build strength + a robust metabolism? Are you obsessively tracking your step count when you're out for a walk rather than enjoy the fresh air, views, and sounds of nature or your favorite playlist / podcast?



These all add up to a lack of pleasure and will also significantly reduce the chances of you staying consistent.



Instead, start to shift that. Reduce the "pain" of change by eliminating the restrictive, obsessive, weight-focused thoughts and patterns. And increase the pleasure by coupling things like exercise, walking, and meal prep with fun things like music you love and gratitude that you get to focus on building a healthier you at any moment.


The hard truth: the more negative, controlling, or impatient you are, the less likely you are to reach your goals. Maybe your pants aren't looser yet but your energy is up or you're having less cravings? If you're the one who says, "Ugh, my pants aren't looser yet.", don't expect to reach your goals yet. But when you have the skills to say "Yay! I have more energy and less cravings already!", you're more primed for success from a neurological standpoint. This is something we can all acquire. You don't have to be born with a certain personality type to celebrate all the wins and see mostly the good in your progress.



important to note: There are many people who think they know all the right things to do and are jut not doing them when what's actually happening is that they're trying to do things that do not help at all! So they are trying to cut back their calories and aren't sure why they end up binge-eating the Pringles at 9 PM or order too many drinks on Saturday night. They think they know the right things to do ... just don't eat the Pringles or order too many drinks next time. Whereas they actually had the wrong approach alllll week and it's their faulty biology that lead them to make those choices, not their lack of willpower. So be sure you actually know you have the right approach before thinking you're having trouble staying consistent. If it's the wrong approach, you will definitely struggle here. Everything we do in TRANSFORM: Body + Mind is focused on doing the actual right things. The things that help us thrive. The things that make achieving fat loss goals feel GREAT rather than crappy. Good rule of thumb: if it makes you feel crappy, it's the wrong approach. The March group just got kicked off yesterday and is off to a great start! I'll be running the course next in May.



Announcement: I am currently revamping my 1:1 coaching program. While I'm not taking any new clients currently, I will be opening up some spots when I'm done updating the program. If you are interested in being considered for this, please hop on the interested list. I'll be sure to reach out by early May at the latest to either tell you it's ready or that it's closer to being ready and share some more details with you at that time.



TLDR: If you are having trouble staying consistent with your health habits, start by connecting to a deeper (hint: it won't be aesthetic) why. Then, make sure you dial the "pain" associated with change way down and the "pleasure" way up. Finally, make sure you actually know all the right things to do. This won't be any kinds of diets or bootcamps or obsessive tracking.



XO,
Tara

Need some new progressively overloaded workouts?

Your future called ... and it's SO proud of how strong you are.

That's from all the progressively overloading workouts AND sleep / nourishment / rest you've been giving it. ;-)



Now maybe this is a reality for you right now. You know you're progressing with your workouts and have an awesome plan for the rest that you're implementing or starting to implement. Or maybe you're on the waitlist for TRANSFORM: Body + Mind and will have soooo much confidence and clarity around all of this very soon. But if you're not yet strength training or you've been kind of bopping around and counting group exercise or Peleton-with-weights classes as strength training, this email is for you in particular.



Progressive overloading is the way we strength train when we have fat loss, muscle-building, or "toning up" goals. Once we've reach all of the goals and just want to maintain our strength and body composition, we have more flexibility to be able to bop around to various workouts because it doesn't take as much of a stimulus to maintain as it does to achieve those goals. It takes consistency to maintain! But there is more flexibility to the approach.



I'm going to assume for the rest of this email that you have fat loss, muscle-building, or "toning up" goals. Here's how to approach the strength training part of the puzzle if that's the case:

• Have a solid, 1-week plan that targets all major muscle groups in the various ways they need to be targeted and in the various planes of motion and angles -- you'll likely need help with this, it's coming below ;-)

• Use a resistance, reps, and sets that make at least the last few reps of each exercise feel HARD to complete. That's important. Write that down. What exercise? How much weight? How many reps? How many sets?

• Repeat the same workouts week after week for 8-16 or so weeks before changing it up to a different set of workouts BUT, make it spicier over time. Meaning, add resistance as you can, reps, or even sets over time.
  

In case you need a week's worth of workouts to get you started, you can use some of mine! This is a 4-day a week plan and covers all the major muscle groups. Because someone will ask ;-) core is sneakily baked into ALL of my programming so I gotcha covered there too. Do them on any 4 days a week that you'd like, just avoid doing similar muscle groups on back-to-back days (like upper 1 today and upper 2 tomorrow. Not enough rest there for recovery + progress).


Upper Body 1

Lower Body 1

Upper Body 2

Lower Body 2


If you will be signing up for this March round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind (cart is open NOW!), keep in mind you'll have a full progressively overloading workout routine in there as well as optional meal plans, fun recipe collections, and other resources in case you hate cooking or are always on the run, cycle synching, menopause, pregnancy, postpartum, and breastfeeding considerations. Those are just some of the resources. It's really a whole COURSE and that's the real power of it. ;-) You can check out more details right here.

Hope you enjoy those workouts!!


XO,
Tara

Sluggish metabolism?

Our metabolic rate is largely in our control.

That's the good news. The bad news (but then good news again 'cause I'd never leave you off on bad news. I'm not a monster.) -- if you have a history of chronic or yoyo dieting, undereating, being sedentary and / or overexercising, there's a good chance your metabolism has taken a hit.



The good news again? While it may take some extra time for you to boost, your metabolic rate CAN be boosted. This differs from "weight loss". Let me explain...



The things you've likely tried in the past to lose weight or "tone up" were very short-sighted. Eating less and less calories. Exercising more and longer and harder. Fasting longer and longer. These things do often produce a temporary reduction in your scale weight of course. But they're hard to maintain because you feel like cr*p, right? But it's not just that. They are actually ruining your progress. 



Typical diets and 'eat less, exercise more' plans lower metabolic rate, reduce muscle mass, increase inflammation (think: disease / auto-immunity), down-regulate thyroid, increase cortisol, and mess with things like sleep, moods, decision-making, energy levels, libido, satiety, feelings of well-being ...



When you focus on optimizing health instead what you're actually doing is helping all of your body systems operate on a higher level. It takes a lot of fuel to up-level to a greater foundation of health!! This fuel demand = boosted metabolism.



So now you can achieve those fat loss or "toning up" goals WHILE feeling amazing and improving your health markers because you are well-nourished, even while losing excess body fat.



This is what we do in TRANSFORM: Body + Mind, my 28-day metabolism-boosting course. You can think of it like an education on how your body *really* works + how to help it thrive to crush your goals. You didn't learn this stuff in high school biology class and the media / healthcare field tends to be 17ish years behind the research. If you haven't taken it yet, this course (and it's optional monthly membership sequel, The After Party) is your next step if you have fat loss, muscle-building, "toning up", or longevity goals. Our next round starts in less than 3 weeks! HOP ON THE WAITLIST to reserve your spot and receive a discount code.



What can you do if you aren't able to join us or in the meantime while you wait for thee course to start??



Do this. Little by little, not all at once. And start with things that feel like they'll be easiest to incorporate into your routine or things that feel like they might be big needle-movers for you (current weak spots ... you'll often get most traction starting with those).

• Nutrition. We need to eat in a way that nourishes us really well to optimize all body systems and also helps us regulate hunger / fullness / cravings. Do this by eating at least 20g protein with EACH meal, 10-20g fat, and some fiber. As far as starchy carbs (or fruit, pasta, bread, sweets, potatoes, rice, beans ...), dial that into activity level. Not very active? Eating a 1/2 cup(ish) serving at 2 of your meals per day might be plenty. Very active or have an under-active thyroid or elevated cortisol? You probably need an intentional carb serving with 3 meals per day.

• Sleep. Our metabolic rate tanks with a lack of sleep. Not only that, but hunger and cravings and blood sugar regulation are dysregulated. If your sleep is broken, I'd start here. Get morning sun everyday without sunglasses on and even on cloudy days. Shut off overhead lights in your house around sunset. No screens close to bedtime or if you wake in the middle of the night. This will tank melatonin and good luck with quality sleep after that. Also, if at all possible, get to bed before 11:00. We have certain repair mechanisms that we miss if we go to bed too late, even if we still get 8 hours of sleep.

• Movement. If you crush your workouts but are sedentary the rest of the day, your metabolic rate will be upwards of 15% lower than it could be. I can't stress this enough .... walking, gardening, dance parties, active hobbies, stretching or yoga, sex, building snowmen or sand castles with your kids or grandkids, standing at your desk for half your workday ... these things MUST be a part of the equation if a boosted metabolism (and longevity) is part of your plan.

• Exercise. This is NOT the same as movement and needs to be strategic. Not too much that it inflames more than it helps, but enough that it's effective! Ideally this includes for most of you: a progressively overloading strength training program to build and keep muscle, some steady state cardio mixed in for health, and 1-3 SHORT (maybe 5 -10 minutes) high intensity interval training sessions like sprints on and off or something. 

There are lots of other things we can do to boost our metabolism (like consider gut health, hormone balancing, heat / cold exposure, tackle emotional eating, stress, the way we breathe, the cleaning and beauty products we use, etc.). While we will be covering all of that and more in TRANSFORM: Body + Mind, I didn't want to overwhelm you with a novel here today. The list above, I hope, will help you pull 1 or 2 actionable steps to start with right away.



Next week, I'll be sharing a progressively overloading workout routine that you can use and do from home or the gym. Can't wait to share it!



XO,
Tara

Alcohol ... friend or foe?

What is "heavy drinking" to you? Do you have boundaries around alcohol?

Maybe you don't drink at all. Or maybe you drink a maximum amount of drinks per week / month. Or mayyyybe you never considered setting boundaries around alcohol (yet).



I shared THIS REEL on Instagram last week about what I consider "heavy drinking" for myself and so many reasons it can be messing up our health and body goals. Psst ... none of the reasons was "calories" because there are so many bigger things happening that deserve our attention.

The most current research might make you wanna avoid alcohol entirely or at least consider indulging a lot less often + with less drinks per sesh.


That being said, what if you want to still drink occasionally? Anything to do that can help?


Kinda no — your body still has to process and remove the poison itself over time, and kinda yes — you can support your body so it’s in a slightly better position to do so.


Consider these:


1️⃣Eat protein, fat, and fiber-rich meals. Keep your blood sugar as steady as possible. Avoid alcohol and sugar or processed carbs at the same time. I know, right?? But just sharing the info.

2️⃣Discuss with a trusted healthcare provider whether or not NAC, milk thistle, and / or dandelion root tea would be good for you. And avoid Tylenol!! These are liver + methylation things.

3️⃣Sleep! If you will be short on sleep the night of the ‘event’, make it your job to sleep well the night before and the night after.

4️⃣Hydration + electrolytes

5️⃣Try to avoid additional toxins in that drink to avoid an even bigger blow. Choose organic wine or liquor + water or club soda + low sugar mix-ins like lemon, lime, mint, cinnamon sticks.

6️⃣Expect all the signs + symptoms of blood sugar imbalance for at least 24 hours or so: hunger + fullness cues off, cravings up, energy dips.

7️⃣Exercise, walk, dance, sauna or hot bath, dry brush … think about supporting healthy lymphatic circulation.

Some things I do in case it helps you:

🍷 Drink of choice: gin + club soda + muddled lemon. When the bartenders don’t wanna muddle a lemon for me 😆, I just get A BUNCH of lemons.

🍷I am ok not finishing a drink. I can order one and drink half. It’s a waste whether I make my body deal with it or leave it, so no guilt.

🍷I’m a 1 drink MAX person these days. Smart? Boring? Probably both. If I DO want a drink that night, I’ll decide if it’s 1 with dinner or 1 at the concert or whatever, but not both.

🍷I am perfectly fine being the only one not drinking. It’s an intentional choice and one I make often.

🍷I want a really FULL + FUN life. I also wanna feel great. This means drinking at every social event isn’t a good idea for me.

I figured now might be a fun time to share a couple of mocktail recipes with ya. Hope you enjoyyyy!



XO,
Tara



P.S. We dive much deeper into alcohol and all things indulgences in TRANSFORM: Body + Mind so you can make informed choices regardless and not feel as though the social or fun times are derailing your progress at all. The next round starts in March. Are you on the waitlist yet??

Meal prepping tips + tricks

Meal prepping tips + tricks

Whether you're a block-off-every-Sunday-for-kitchen-time kinda person or of the can't-stand-meal-prepping-because-who-even-knows-what-you're-gonna-want-to-eat-tomorrow-night-nevermind-Thursday variety, I'm hoping some of these tips / tricks will help you make the whole feeding yourself and your family process go more smoothly.


Even though we talk about being able to eat out or order through Door Dash sometimes, the key to success in any health goal is that most of the food you eat is prepared by you or someone who loves you and knows how to balance meals for us to thrive. Batching your time in the kitchen can be a great way to actually spend less time cooking.


1) How's your storage container situation? Grab some more - preferably glass - if you'll need them. 

2) Plan to plan. Yeah, it's kinda like making a list of lists but it works. Pick a day and time each week that you'll write out your plan. It's a good habit to get into planning out your meals for the week, scheduling when you'll go grocery shopping or place an online order, and setting aside a couple of hours to pre-cook or chop whatever you can when possible. But first you need to actually sit down and do that. So, plan THAT!

3) Pair the kitchen time with something enjoyable. Save your fav. podcast for cooking time, cook with your family or a friend, or ask Alexa to turn up the 90s alternative or rap or pop or jazz ... whatever makes the time pass for you with a smile on your face. I know it's not always a Hallmark movie moment when you cook with your family, but you're building their skills and one day they will cook for you and you can sit on your butt. Maybe. Let's just pretend. :-P

4) Think about utilizing multiple appliances at once to be most efficient. Example: Protein muffins in the oven, soup on the stovetop, chicken or chili in your instant pot / slow cooker, and raw veggies and fruit to chop on the countertop.

5) When it makes sense, keep different meal components separate until serving. This allows you to mix n' match. Example: roasted veggies can be served with protein and rice for dinner one night, on a big salad for lunch the next day, and then inside an omelette for breakfast another day.

6) If it's a tried and true recipe (the whole fam loves it!), never make just 1 batch. Make 3 or 4 batches so you have leftovers PLUS extra to freeze for quick meals over the next couple of weeks.

7) Every little bit helps. As with everything, the all-or-nothing mentality does us no favors. So what, you don't have 2-3 hours to prep today? (Pshhhh! Who does???) Can you spend 10 minutes chopping up
some carrots to take with hummus for your afternoon snacks? Do it!

8) Wash / soak your produce in a mix of 90% water, 10% vinegar ... or a water + salt mix. Just doing that step will save you time while cooking during the week. Just save more mold-prone items (like berries) to be washed closer to consumption.

9) While you have the salt handy, soak apple slices in water + salt to keep from browning in your lunches or your kids' lunchboxes.


If you need a couple of recipes to prep this weekend, try these:


Protein-packed deviled eggs

Mushroom + Edamame Stir Fry



And if you are looking into meal delivery options, just know I'm constantly looking for ones that are PFF + intentional carb friendly but have yet to find any. Maybe you and I can partner up and make that happen?? Haha. But seriously ... there are a bunch of options that seem to use high quality ingredients (yay), but I haven't found ANY yet that are balanced in a way that'll make us feel amazing and crush our health, body, and longevity goals. HOWEVER, there are some ways around it. Example: I checked out a meal for a client this week from a company called Redefine. It was Take Out Chicken and Broccoli. If she removes half the rice (save for the next day) and adds a drizzle of olive oil or a few slices of avocado, it would be a great PFF + intentional carb meal. 



If you're super overwhelmed with where to even start with balancing meals, TRANSFORM: Body + Mind would be perfect for you. The next round starts in March and waitlist people will be getting a discount code.



Happy Tuesday,
Tara

Get your first pullup: progressions

Are pull-ups one of your fitness goals?

I posted a reel on instagram last week detailing what steps to take to work your way up to your first pull-up. I had over 100 people save this reel just within a half hour or so, which is A LOT for my little slice of social media real estate. That -- and the comments -- tell me this is a BIG goal for many of you.



So, I decided I wanted to share it with you here too in case you missed it -- but with more detail I wasn't able to share on that reel. How often should you do these practice exercises? Which days? How much rest? Any other considerations? How long will it take before you're showing off your new skills on every playground, horizontal bar or ledge you come across?



It's all here in this 3-minute video. 



I've been pretty obsessed with pull-ups since an elementary school gym teacher told me "Most girls and women can't do pull-ups" after I wanted to have a go at it and he just wanted to give zeros to all the girls across the board. :-/ And if you have that fire in you too, I hope this helps!



If pull-ups are not something you ever care about trying or are doing lots of already, maybe you'll enjoy this one about how to determine whether your strength workout is 'effective' or not.



XO,
Tara



P.S. The cart opens in 4 weeks for the next round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind, my 28-day metabolism-boosting course. This course teaches you about deep health and how your metabolism works so you can incorporate more choices into your lifestyle that allow you to achieve your goals without dieting or feeling confused. This approach is not really out there yet (which is CRAZY to me!), but is such a powerful approach as it allows us to chase our health goals and body goals at the same time and without obsessively tracking a freaking thing. Just learning. Your only job is to learn. Anyway, it's been pretty life-changing for those who have done the previous rounds. That's not easy for me to say b/c it feels weird, but that's what THEY are saying.


If you're not happy with where things are at and feel like there's got to be a better way, it's because there IS. I'd love to teach it to you. Hop on the waitlist now so you'll be notified when the cart opens and get a discount code.

Extra Kid-Friendly Balanced Meals

What if the kids' menu at the diner met a super balanced, PFF-friendly bougie meal plan and had a baby?

You'd probably get something like THIS RECIPE COLLECTION I made for you this week. ;-)

Some of these meals have slightly less protein than I'd suggest for adults, but all have at least 10g. The also have fat + fiber. What makes this collection different is that most of these are 'fun' in some way or resemble more typical 'kid menu' items like chicken nuggets and pizza, but with a healthy twist.


All recipes happen to be gluten-free. All but 1 are dairy free (the pizza -- you can easily make it dairy-free by using a different 'cheese'). Some are plant-based and many include meat. Some include protein powder and you'll have to decide if you're comfortable with that. I, personally, am comfortable with my kiddos having protein powder if I approve of the ingredients and actually think it's soooooo much better than most of the rest of the junk that people try to feed kids all the time. But we all draw the line in different places! Some of the recipes have nuts and some don't. Oh, and they're perfectly safe for adults. You won't turn into a kid if you eat these. HAHA!


Point is, pick and choose what might work for you and enjoyyyyyy!

XO,
Tara



P.S. If you'd like some more help improving health and reaching body composition goals (like fat loss, muscle-building, and "toning up"), hop on the waitlist for the March round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind! The January group is kicking some butt already in week 2 and I'd love for you to have this kind of clarity + confidence too.

2023 Ripple Habits

2023 Ripple Habits ... here we come!

Last week in The After Party (the sequel to TRANSFORM: Body + Mind), we had Kathryn Lattimer as a guest speaker talking about Non-Toxic Living. You might know her as Earth Minded Mama. Anyway, she mentioned something towards the beginning of the workout that gave me pause. Each swap we make for better quality / less toxic products we use on or around us is like a stone thrown in a lake. The first ripple is small, but then it gets bigger and bigger as time goes on. How true ... and genius!



It got me thinking, while everyone seems to be vowing to revamp everything about their nutrition, fitness, and identity right now b/c it's a new year (and WHY do we start a new year a few weeks into winter, anyway? Isn't that bizarre?), you might want to focus on smaller, more manageable habits that each start with a small ripple but gain momentum over time.


If you're having trouble sticking to big resolutions, just know mid-winter isn't really when most people feel ready for big change. This season tends to be more of a reflective time with spring bringing about more of that energy needed for bigger change. So you're not lazy ... you're just really in tune with the seasons. ;-)



Here are some 2023 'ripple habits' for you to consider. Pick 1 or 2 at a time so as to not overwhelm you:

1. Commit to at least 5 minutes of morning sun each day. Sure, longer is great but before we can dial up a habit we need to make it a habit first. Morning sun influences mood, energy, sleep quality later that night, stress levels, metabolism, immunity, and more. Kind of a big deal.

2. Coffee happens after you've been awake for 90 minutes, with or after breakfast. Check of at least one of those boxes but if you can check off both, great. This helps keep your circadian rhythm in check and your adrenals will thank you.

3. Make movement a priority. No more "go big or go home" vibes. Have a little cold? No energy? You can still get out for a walk or do some dancing or stretching at home.

4. Consider adding minerals to your hydration plan. Water is great, but it's even better when we can get it into our cells more effectively. No affiliation, but I love LMNT and Relyte brand. You could also save money and add a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon into your water. It's not quite as complete, but it's something.

5. Identify patterns that aren't serving you and mix it up. Journal about it. Do you keep fighting with your kids during homework time b/c they're bored and you've had it? Try mixing it up ... do homework with them in a different room or in a fort. Do you keep binging at nighttime and you feel cr*ppy afterwards? What needs to be in place to help you prevent this next time? If you're currently in this round of TRANSFORM, we will be diving deep into this. But if you aren't, make sure you're well-fueled during meal times and not riding the blood sugar rollercoaster all day. Then when you want to binge, understand you're looking for something. What is that something? A break? A few minutes to yourself? Joy that you aren't giving yourself enough of throughout the rest of your day? Shake things up.

6. Create a food acquisition system. Meaning, have a plan. Your plan could mean you meal plan every Saturday and grocery shop every Sunday and spend 30 minutes in the kitchen prepping 1 protein source for the week. It could mean you go with a food delivery service you've been meaning to set up to save some time. It could mean you find 5 take out meals that are pretty nicely balanced so you can rely on them in a pinch. Maybe you get Thrive Market deliveries once a month, Misfits or a CSA for produce weekly, and you hit Costco biweekly for the rest. All that matters is ... do you have a system? Is it working for you?

7. Get 7-8 hour sleep opportunities nearly every night. "Sleep opportunities" b/c you can't always control when you fall asleep or get woken up. But you do know you'll never get enough if you're not even in bed for long enough. If you're a monkey brain person like me, a pen-and-paper brain dump can be so helpful. Get all the thoughts, follow ups, To Dos down in writing so there's less swirling around up there. Oh, and your blue blockers are cool and all but are you turning off your overhead lights around or just after sunset? If not, don't be surprised if you have trouble sleeping. Melatonin production won't be sufficient with house lights on in the few hours before bed or if they're turned on at all in the middle of the night ... like during a bathroom trip.

Little ripples, big momentum!


XO,
Tara

Breakfast, Lunch + Dinner Ideas

Recipes are cool and all, but sometimes I need to just throw something balanced together as I put out life's dumpster fires and just call it a day.

You too? Here are some meal ideas for you -- both plant-based and omnivore -- that include at least 30g protein. I've included some high protein snacks below, too.  And no, you don't have to eat breakfast foods for breakfast or dinner foods for dinner, so feel free to mix it up, you rebel you.



Breakfasts:

• Protein box dupe -- 2 hard-boiled eggs, 3 ounces organic deli turkey, apple

• 1/2 cup oats with 1 scoop protein powder, 1 T nut butter, cinnamon, and a small handful of blueberries

• 1 serving low sugar Greek yogurt or dairy-free high protein yogurt with 1 T nut butter + 1 T pumpkin seeds

• Smoothie with 1.5 - 2 scoops protein powder, water, pumpkin puree, 1/3 cup coconut milk, cinnamon, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and 1 T flaxseeds

• 1 full egg + 1 cup egg whites scrambled in coconut oil or butter and topped with greens. salsa, and sauerkraut. Bonus: Add sriracha if you like it spicy like me. :-)

• Dinner leftovers including 4-5 ounces meat or seafood, veggies, and a fat source like oil or avocado.

Lunches + Dinners:

• Smoothie with 1.5 - 2 scoops protein powder, water, spinach, 1/2 cup berries, and chia seeds

• A 20g protein veggie burger salad (cook, break up, and add to greens, veggies, beans, and olive oil)

• 4-5 ounces of meat / seafood alongside some veggies and additional fat, if needed

• Travel -- 2 hard-boiled eggs. packet of pistachios, apple with almond butter, raw + cut veggies

• 1/5 cups tofu stir fried with colorful veggie mix and a Thai peanut sauce (mix together 1 T PB, 1 TB coconut aminos, 2 T lemon juice, garlic powder, and add water to desired consistency)

• Chickpea pasta (like Banza) with peas and tomato sauce

High protein snacks:

• Fruit w/ cottage cheese or Greek yogurt

• Egg / tuna / chicken salad with high-fiber crackers (like Mary's Gone Crackers)

• Organic deli meat roll-ups with matchbook veggies

• Mini smoothie -- 1 scoop protein, water, 1/2 banana, 1 T chia seeds

• Less processed protein bar like Raw Rev Glo in Creamy Peanut Butter + Sea Salt or PaleoValley

• Raw veggies with an edamame hummus dip (blend steamed edamame with your favorite humus)

• 2 hard-boiled eggs + a piece of fruit or veggie

• "Granola" made by tossing nuts + seeds in coconut oil and some flavorings (like cinnamon and vanilla) and roasting. 

• Organic meat stick and an orange

Feel free to screen shot these lists for future reference!



Reminder: Tomorrow is the LAST day to sign up for this January round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind, my 28-day metabolism-boosting course. We have a group of people who are about to change their lives (it's a really big deal when we start to feel better in all kinds of ways) and if you're ready to be a part of that group, CHECK IT OUT HERE.



XO,
Tara

Craving-busting meal plan

The holidays are great at ramping up cravings, huh?

It's fine. It's usually worth it, right? But it can be hard to undue swiftly unless we get to the root.



The root of cravings is often an unstable blood sugar, so balancing blood sugar well, getting enough sleep, and staying hydrated (consider adding electrolytes) are all important.



I made a quick 1-day meal plan to help with the blood sugar balancing part. Day 1 is an omnivore day and Day 2 is a plant-based day. Use either or both if it'll help! GRAB IT HERE.



Get ready ... the doors for the January round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind open tomorrow and will only be open for a week. Today is the last possible day to get on the waitlist and receive a discount code.



XO,
Tara

The 2023 version of YOU

It's mid-holiday week time and I'm gonna keep it short + sweet so you can get back to your fam....

Whether you're a New Year Resolutions person or not, all of us can at least appreciate the opportunity to reinvent ourselves anytime and what better time than the end / beginning of a new year?



THIS WORKSHOP is one I did a few months ago in The After Party (my monthly membership), but it's such a powerful exercise that I wanted to share it here with you now as well.



Wishing you a healthy + fulfilling year ahead ... one where you break whatever patterns aren't working for you and build yourself anew whenever you feel like it. <3




Happy New Year!




XO,
Tara



P.S. The cart for the next round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind opens on January 4th. Have you reserved your spot on the waitlist yet? If so, you'll also be getting a discount code. ;-)