Or maybe you just need a few new, fun outdoor grill options. These are not all PFF + intentional carb balanced and they include plenty of indulgences, but they're an upgrade to the usual camping fare. Use a recipe or two or enjoy the whole sample weekend menu as I've laid it out!
Check these out:
Weekend Camping Menu
Plant-based Weekend Camping Menu
Hope you enjoy,
Tara
Including ... in our bodies and cells. YUCK!
But there's good news: we can make a few changes that can have a big impact.
These tiny plastic particles are everywhere—our food, water, and even the air we breathe. Microplastics can wreak havoc on our health, contributing to inflammation, oxidative stress, and hormonal imbalances, which can ultimately lead to chronic diseases and even excess body fat.
Microplastics have been found to interfere with our body's metabolism, leading to weight loss resistance. These tiny plastic particles can act as endocrine disruptors, mimicking or blocking hormones that regulate various bodily functions, including metabolism. When microplastics interfere with the hormonal signals that control hunger, satiety, and energy storage, it can lead to increased fat accumulation and difficulty in losing weight.
Additionally, microplastics can induce inflammation and oxidative stress, two conditions closely linked to metabolic dysfunction. Inflammation can impair insulin signaling, which is crucial for regulating blood sugar and fat storage. This disruption can lead to insulin resistance, a condition where the body's cells become less responsive to insulin, resulting in higher blood sugar levels and increased fat storage. Oxidative stress, caused by an imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants in the body, can damage cells and tissues, further exacerbating metabolic issues and contributing to weight gain and resistance to weight loss.
They have also been discovered in plaque in human arteries!
Thankfully, there are steps we can take to reduce our exposure to microplastics.
Some examples:
1) Avoid plastic containers for food and drinks. Purchase glass 'tupperware' when you're in the market to replace yours or put it on a gift wish list. Bring water in a glass or stainless bottle instead of relying on plastic water bottles. Avoid using plastic wrap on anything that will touch food -- especially when food is hot in temperature or acidic (as this leeches more of the plastic out and into your food). Stasher bags can replace ziplocks for food on-the-go. And when possible, use a barrier of unbleached parchment paper between your food and plastic (example: wrap a sandwich in the parchment paper and then into a zip lock or plastic container if that's all you have available. Try to avoid buying TV dinners in plastic but if and when you do, try transferring the meal to a pot or another container to heat up there instead of cooking in the plastic.
2) Choose natural fiber clothing when possible. This has been further down on my list because ... well, we can't tackle all the things at once! Fabrics like cotton, linen, silk, wool, hemp are natural (as opposed to polyester, nylon, acrylic which contain plastics).
3) Start to swap out personal care products for ones free from plastics as possible. "Beat the Microbead" website and app can help you wade through the options on the market to look for these.
4) Investing in a good water filter can help reduce the amount of microplastics in your drinking water. We have and love this one with the glass carafe, though we'd eventually like to get the Berkey as well for a powerless option. Unfortunately, things like a Brita or our fridge filter wasn't cutting it for our needs.
5) Tea and coffee! I love drinking herbal tea, but I won't steep it in the tea bags. Instead, I buy loose leaf tea or break open the tea bags and pour the contents into this stainless steel strainer instead. And if you use a Keurig for coffee, consider skipping the K cups and instead buying a stainless refillable K cup that you can use to fill with your favorite coffee grinds and yet continue to make 1 cup at a time.
Look, some of these options still have some plastic (like the glass tupperware having a plastic lid), but every little bit we cut back on helps! Also, we are all at different places and have different priorities and budgets. It's important we each just do what we can, as we can and with what we have. <3
As for detoxifying from an overload of microplastics already in your system, you must make choices you feel are right for you, of course, and I recommend running options by a trusted healthcare provider. Some ways people choose to assist their bodies in detoxifying the microplastics:
1) Increasing fiber intake
2) Exercise + movement
3) Increasing sweat
4) Hydration
5) Antioxidant-rich foods
6) Chlorella and spirulina
7) Milk thistle
8) NAC
9) Sleep
10) Minimizing ultra-processed food
Hope you found this helpful!
XO,
Tara
P.S. The work we do in my 28-day metabolism-boosting course, TRANSFORM: Body + Mind, includes the nitty gritty like reducing microplastics and toxins because nutrition and fitness are important (and we cover those things in great detail!), but there are so many other important puzzle pieces most people are missing when on a fat loss journey. We put together all the pieces ... and it's why we get all the incredible results that we do! Hop on the waitlist to reserve your spot for the September round and to be sent a discount code when the cart opens.
1. Basil seeds. These tiny little black seeds look just like chia seeds and can be turned into a pudding just like chia seed pudding. They can also be sprinkled on everything from yogurt, to oatmeal, to fruit salad, to cottage cheese to desserts. What I love about them is that they have 15g of fiber per serving (which is 2 T), 5g of protein and are a good source of omega 3s. Yes please! With most people coming in way under the minimum recommendation of 25g of fiber daily for women, this helps me reach that goal very easily.
2. Lumebox. I love using this thing year-round but there are certain benefits specific to Summertime. For one, it helps prepare my skin to be out in the sun and reduces sunburns. Also, using it after sun exposure helps my skin to heal any damage. It's great to speed recovery and healing time on things like mosquito bites and because of the way it improves at the level of the mitochondria, it helps with things like blood sugar management and metabolic rate -- things I'm mindful of in all seasons, but Summer is no different. Also, if your daughter stubs here toe on a lounge chair by the pool and it's suspected broken, the lumebox can be used to speed up healing then, too. ;-) This link gets you a STEEP discount that will show up once you go to check out. Enjoy!
3. Vitamin C. I mix 1 tsp into 1 cup of filtered water and add to a spray bottle. We use on our skin after pool use but before showering to help neutralize the detrimental effects of the chlorine.
4. Active skin repair. My sweet sweet mama had brain surgery to remove a tumor exactly one week ago and I've been spending lots of time in the hospital. If you know me, you know I do not use hand sanitizer. Instead, I prefer to wash my hands with soap and water. Active skin repair is great to keep in my purse for cuts, scrapes, rashes, sunburn but I will also use in place of hand sanitizer when necessary as it can help kill germs without disrupting the skin microbiome.
5. Reusable water balloons. This isn't really a health thing unless having something on hand that might entertain your kids while they get their sunshine, grounding, sensory play and exercise and while you get some in work (or relaxation or play with them) counts. We purchased these for our kiddos' last day of school and surprised them with a celebratory water balloon fight. They've been used many times since!
6. I own this bathing suit in 3 colors / patterns and rotate. They are inexpensive, cute and stay in place (except for certain diving board shenanigans). Anytime I share a cold plunge video or something wearing one, I get DMs asking where I got it, so here it is. :-)
7. I own this hat in 4 colors / patterns and practically live in them in the Summer. Again, inexpensive, cute. I wear the heck out of them with intense workouts, beach, pool, bike rides, boating, top down on Jeep, etc. and they've all held up so far! I love that I get some sun protection on my face and that I can have a high or low ponytail or bun with it on.
These 7 things are each, in their own little way, making my Summer easier / healthier. Hope your Summer so far has been exactly what you are needing it to be. <3
XO,
Tara
P.S. The waitlist for the September round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind is open. It's for those with fat loss, muscle-building, or "toning up" goals who want to achieve those goals without dieting and while focusing on cutting-edge health optimization at the same time. Hop on it if you want to stay in-the-know and receive a discount code when the cart opens. Get ready -- we do things in a wildly different way!
Someone says in order to lose weight, you just need to be in a calorie deficit. Then someone else says, actually it's blood sugar / insulin / inflammation that matters.
Who is right?
Kinda everyone, kinda no one.
If you take in less fuel than you use up ("calorie deficit"), you will lose weight. But here's why it's not actually that simple: most people don't want to lose weight. Most people want to lose fat. A calorie deficit typically does not bring the percentage of fat loss that people are actually after.
A calorie deficit will have us lose weight ... meaning, mass. Some will come from fat but much of it will come from muscle, bone, mitochondria, connective tissue (joint pain, anyone?), collagen (more wrinkles), organs will actually shrink (and dysfunction), brain mass decreases (brain fog). With the exception of some fat, these other losses are NOT FUN, even for people who want to "lose weight".
Why?
Well these other losses worsen our health and longevity, increase risk of disease and autoimmunity, make us tired, weak, age more quickly, create blood sugar imbalances, mood issues and can actually increase body fat percentage. These losses also reduce metabolic rate and make it nearly impossible to keep the weight off. Overall, health, energy, mood, lab work, confidence and aesthetics end up farther away from their goal.
Calories determine mass -- gain or loss. They do not determine, all by themselves, body composition.
Rather, the portions of various foods you eat do.
The amount of protein.
Your sleep.
Stress levels.
Strength training intensity and frequency.
Movement you get outside of workouts.
Blood sugar management.
How well you respect the hormone cascade.
The quantity and quality of your mitochondria.
The quantity and quality of your muscle mass.
Inflammation.
Oxidative stress.
And then yes, whether or not your mass is increasing, decreasing or remaining the same (calories).
I'm hoping you can now see both 'sides' of this silly argument with a lot more clarity now. Neither side is wrong but also, neither side is right. To be clear, I do not recommend you become a keyboard warrior and stand up to anyone on either side of this argument. Protect your peace. ;-)
XO,
Tara
P.S. If you want to learn all about how to rebuild your body into the strongest, healthiest version yet, that's what we dive deep into in my 28-day metabolism-boosting course, TRANSFORM: Body + Mind. The next round will be in September. Make sure you're on the waitlist if you'd like to join (and want a discount code when the cart opens)!
What gives?
Does this sound familiar? I hear it all the time. People email me, DM me and say this. Here's the deal ...
It means almost nothing to me when someone says they "eat clean" and / or that they "workout". The reason is that the nuance matters. A LOT.
What does "clean eating" mean to them? What types of things do they eat? What types of things are they avoiding? What times do they eat? How much food? Are they meeting their micronutrient needs? What's the balance of their meals like? Are they getting enough protein per meal? Across the whole day? Enough fiber? What kinds of fat are they getting? How many intentional carb servings per day? How much alcohol? What’s their blood sugar management like?
One can consider themselves a "clean eater" (most people are referring to eating minimally processed foods when they say this), yet still be eating in a way that tells our body to store excess body fat and / or keep the current amount of excess body fat. We’ll know that to be the case when we have fat loss resistance. Our body doesn’t do that by accident. If it’s happening, it’s happening for a reason.
The same can be said about those who say they "workout". I love it because any exercise is better than none, right? But also, chances are there are things we can do to optimize your routine to get a bigger bang for your buck if you’re not happy with where things are at.
What types of workouts are you doing? How often? What's the intensity like? What are rest / active rest days like? How sedentary are you between workouts? How much strength training are you doing? Is it a progressively overloading + comprehensive program? How much steady state cardio? What about sprint level cardio bursts like HIIT for VO2 max improvement? How much overall movement do you get each day? Do you have a plan that feels very manageable inside your full life and one that you’re able to be consistent with even during hard or busy weeks?
Nuance.
When I get emails or DMs saying, "I eat clean and workout and just can't get the results I want" it does NOT tell me your body is broken (even when people tell me that’s the conclusion they’ve drawn). It tells me we have some information to get through and tweaks to make so you can and will finally get those results you've been spinning your wheels for.
A few notes to keep in mind if this is resonating:
1) Eating too much "clean" food for your current metabolic rate will lead to fat gain or fat loss resistance.
2) Cutting back on food with a slow metabolism instead of boosting your metabolism first can be a dangerous choice. The goal shouldn't be to enter a calorie deficit no matter how low it needs to be. The goal (for health optimization PLUS body recomposition) should be to boost your metabolism to a healthy and robust rate so that when you do dial back slightly, you're still taking in a very nourishing and satiating amount of food.
3) Eating too little in general or too little of one or more components (like protein, for example) can actually interfere with your fat loss goals as well. Starvation mode isn't a thing, but metabolic adaptation is. This means your body will 'cut corners' so that it can learn to run itself off of the smaller intake amount without dying. Your heart will keep beating and you'll breathe but your thyroid might start to down-regulate, energy levels will decline, you may notice things like brain fog, muscle will start to waste away and healing won't be as efficient.
To start:
1) Make sure you're eating 30+g of protein in each of your 3 meals per day.
2) Strength train 2-4 days a week to maintain or add muscle (and increase metabolic rate and carb tolerance).
3) Go for a daily walk.
4) Work up to at least 25g of fiber daily.
5) Prioritize sleep quantity, quality and consistency (no big swings in bedtime from weekdays to weekends).
If you need more targeted help with your health and / or body composition goals, check out my 1:1 coaching program details. Spots are very limited as it's all customized and a very high touch program but I have clients graduating out of the program often, so spots do open up fairly often. :-) It's first come, first served. Fill out the interested form if you're ... interested (haha) and I'll get back to you shortly with more information and expected timeline.
XO,
Tara
If you put soda in your car's gas tank, you'd expect it to break down.
And with all the talk we do here about balancing meals for health and body composition goals (it's important to know how much protein, fat, fiber and intentional carbohydrates your body needs), it's just as important for us to think about the quality of the food we eat.
This is because every cell in your body turns itself over. You are an ENTIRELY different human, in a physical sense, than you were a few years ago. Each cell turns over and organs are rebuilt. What are we building ourselves out of with each version we create over our lifetime? Food!
Inside a nation that consumes mostly ultra-processed food, most humans here are mostly made up of ultra-processed food. How much of our bodies is now constructed from corn syrup, soybean oil, preservatives and microplastics? And the bigger question becomes, why are we surprised when we experience depression, excess body fat storage, anxiety, brain fog, dementia, prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, arthritis, bipolar disorder, PCOS, hypothyroidism, autoimmunity or insulin resistance? We are constructing cells and body parts out of things that were never meant to be used to construct cells and body parts. Of course they won't work well over time!
So what can we do? Yes, PFF + intentional carb balancing matters. Yes fitness, sleep, stress management, purpose, relationships, grounding, sunshine, hydration and temperature variability matters. But so too does the make-up of our food.
Some people, when they start a health or body composition journey, start to become more mindful of things like calories or even overall food balance (macros). And many fill find themselves looking at food labels for the calories or macros, but not yet paying attention to the ingredient list. And guess what? That's ok ... at first. We can't tackle everything at once.
But if you have been aiming to get the balance right but aren't yet reading ingredients, you may want to start. There's a lot of nuance of course but as a general rule of thumb, long ingredient lists are typically a red flag. To me, any kind of artificial dyes or flavors are too. We avoid high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils completely as well. And we really limit things like seed oils and added sugars. This has been our way of thinking for our whole 10+ years of parenting so far but the cool thing is you get to shift your boundaries whenever you want to AND you get to set boundaries wherever it makes sense for your particular family or circumstances.
One simple way to start that won't overwhelm you or your budget? When one ultra-processed food item runs out in your home next, try to replace it with something less processed. Example: you eat the last of the Ritz crackers today and shop for Mary's Gone Crackers or Simple Mills crackers next. Unfortunately the less processed, higher quality food typically costs more so you could start to make some things on your own to offset the costs, buy the item less frequently if it's not a necessity in your home (like buy Mary's Gone Crackers every other week rather than Ritz every week). Thankfully, unprocessed or minimally processed real food tends to be much more affordable than the higher quality 'convenience' items.
Ultimately, you have your own boundaries, goals, budgets, food access, etc. Do what you can with what you have and where you're at. <3
Nutrition isn't everything but I will tell you, the more we get in a nourishing balance of food at each meal and with nourishing quality (more real food, minimally processed and far less ultra-processed food), the tendency is for us to start to feel better in ALL the ways and build momentum towards the other health pillars we've been wanting to address.
Your cells are turning over right this very minute. What are you made of today? What do you plan to be made of tomorrow, next month and next year? Unlimited opportunities to (literally) build a new body.
If you need help, my 28-day metabolism-boosting course, TRANSFORM: Body + Mind is for you. It it there for people with fat loss, "toning up" and health optimization goals who want to learn more about how their body and metabolism actually work and thrive. The next round isn't until September but there's a special going on right now for the 4th of July: join now and get early access so you can do all the workouts, have the optional meal plans, all of the resources, and have access to the whole course and all the materials ahead of time. Then, you'll be in the live September round with the rest of the group! CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO or to sign up. We do things in a wildly different way. And that's why you see wildly different results. Get ready! ;-)
XO,
Tara
And if you hang out with me up in Instagram stories, you know I've been sharing my results with you little-by-little. A few of the results that are considered "normal" stood out to me. Unfortunately the references ranges aren't always complete enough to lead us towards optimal health. So while overall I was very happy with my lab results (and told by the doctor that everything was great), in typical Tara fashion, I'm putting together a plan with the goal to optimize even more. (For example, while my TSH and free T4 are optimal, my T3 is a bit low. Knowing how my body and metabolism work, I am able to understand more about the root causes of why this would be).
And if this sounds familiar, it's because I felt the same way last year about my results and shared that with you as well! But these are the June 2024 results I'm now taking into consideration.
You'll have to keep watching stories for more results but in general, a few things put together paint a picture that my stress hormones seem to be dysregulated and my nervous system could use some TLC. This is something I'm pretty familiar with. I was once told by my naturopath that my cortisol levels were higher than she's ever seen in ANYone. Yikes. I was able to get that down but with a whole lotta effort. I don't know my most recent cortisol levels yet -- blood tests are almost worthless for cortisol so I didn't request it from my GP. I still plan to get another DUTCH test one of these days. But I'm not planning on waiting to make changes.
My default personality is Type A. I wake up ready to take the day and have tons of energy until it's time to crash at night. I enjoy planning for the future. Basically, I am naturally a high energy kinda person. This means that if I'm not super intentional, I'll be in need of a little nervous system re-balancing. It's been particularly stressful for some time now -- much of which I don't share as it's not always my story to share. But an outsider, if given all the information, would likely say I have very stressful life circumstances. And while the things I need to be implementing are often so amazing (fun / relaxing), I actually find it hard to make sure I keep them in. I have a list (of course I do) -- a parasympathetic-y menu of options if you will and I figured I'd share with you in case you find it helpful. I am not going to do all of the following and this isn't a To Do list where everything needs to get checked off. That would be counter-productive here! Rather, I will be refocusing on spending at least 10 minutes a day to relax my nervous system and when I'm not sure what to do, I'll pick from this list.
Important to note: if you make your own list it will likely have different things on it as we won't think the same things are interesting / relaxing.
Parasympathetic Menu of Ideas
bath and a book
mess with the guitar
listen to music / sing / hum
yoga / stretch
massage or self massage
sauna
calming breathwork
meditation / guided meditation (calm app)
read out in the sun
ashwagandha, L-theanine if / when needed
write poetry
draw or paint
nature walk
lay on acupressure mat
few extra minutes of sleep
grounding
change into comfy clothes
slide fingertips over my lips (they have special parasympathetic fibers)
visualization (typically do this nightly before falling asleep)
limit caffeine (I'm quite strict with my caffeine boundaries)
keep overnight fasts to no more than 14 hours most days
cold exposure (temporarily sympathetic but overall favors mostly parasympathetic)
enough rest days / active recovery days
be mindful that carb intake isn't too low (or too high -- both can increase stress response)
make plans with friends
It's all connected! Nervous system regulation will show up in various ways in our lab work, mental state, health and / or body goals. There's a reason we spend a whole week on stress, sleep, hormones, and longevity practices in TRANSFORM: Body + Mind! It really cannot be ignored if we care about our outcomes. And if we have a good understanding of our body and metabolism we pick up on when things need to be tweaked ... and we tweak!
Do you need to include more time out of "fight, flight, freeze or fawn" (sympathetic) and in "rest and digest, safe and social" (parasympathetic)? Maybe you can make your own version of this parasympathetic menu of options and pull from it daily alongside me. :-) If you do, I'd love to hear about it!
XO,
Tara
"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.
This allows us to get in enough of what we need but not too much all things considered (so the few carbs you're getting from the broccoli, cheese and nuts for example do add up and we WANT them to ... in addition to the intentional carb servings which will bring even more).
To avoid large 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. Or go for the fries and skip the bun instead. At least most of the time. ;-)
Need a new, fun, easy recipe to try out for Summer? This Peach & Jalapeno Guacamole is delicious and sure to be a crowd-pleaser! It has 15g fat per serving, 7g fiber and only 6g net carbs. Enjoy with a protein source (and intentional carbs if you'd like -- like your fav. crackers) and you have yourself a balanced meal!
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! Plus, waitlist peeps will be getting an email from me in the next week or 2 with a special offer. ;-)
P.P.S. If you need more targeted help, TRANSFORM: 1:1 might be a great option. It's for those who want max support, customization and / or who have health or body composition goals they're finding trickier to manage (chronic disease diagnosis, imbalances, lab work needs improvement, something just feels off, etc.) 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 clients continually kicking butt and graduating out of their program (woo hoo!). 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. :-)
We all need it. What we say to ourselves becomes our identity. Our identity determines our actions, inactions, vibe, etc. It attracts likeness and repels anything that doesn't fit the script.
It's THAT powerful.
So no, it's not harmless or inconsequential that you sometimes tell yourself you're lazy or broken or unworthy. Interestingly, if this is something that resonates, you might fit into a "people pleaser" or "internalized PDA" neurotype. For some people, the idea of setting a goal that might not come to fruition leaves them feeling so powerless that the negative self talk is a coping strategy. If you told yourself you're lazy and then skip a workout, well at least you had enough power and control that you predicted that outcome, right?!
WRONG!
But regardless of neurotypes, we do know that a feeling of safety and autonomy (and follow through!) often comes from pro-active and very intentional identity 'votes'. These are little things you can say, repeat and / or small actions that each cast a vote of who you are and who you are becoming. It's a slow crawl towards this new identity until it sets in and then it's just who you are -- you know it, you act it and others usually start to notice too.
Pick one or a few of the following to say in your head, out loud or even journal about. It's important that it feels true to you so use that as a filter. And then watch as you start to rise to the occasion.
I have power over my behaviors, actions and reactions and that's enough.
I am responsible for all of the cells in my body and care for them through my various lifestyle choices.
I take care of myself the way I'd want my best friends to take care of themselves.
Showing up for myself is the greatest gift I can share with my loved ones because of the role modeling and way it allows my best, happiest, most calm and present self to be there for them.
"Getting" change requires making change. The ball is in my court.
I have unconditional love for myself. I am not making changes only if and until I see physical results. I am committing to making lifelong shifts because it's best for my health ... regardless of what's "in it for me", aesthetically.
Taking things to the next level can feel very uncomfortable and will likely show up as resistance, doubt, excuses and sometimes blame. I'm ready to face that for the sake of my own vibrancy, confidence and quality of life.
The health and body composition goals I have are not commonly acquired in this modern world. I understand that means I will need to do things differently than the status quo and work harder than the average person. Let's do this!
Not everyone was dealt the same topography in this life. If I have more mountains to climb than some others, I know I'll enjoy the view even more at the summit.
My mindset is my responsibility. I am the thermostat not the thermometer.
When I look for loses, I happen to have more loses but when I look solely for wins, I start to collect wins.
The time will pass anyway, I might as well make progress no matter how slow the pace.
I can do hard things.
Screen shot this. Print this. Use it however you'd like! But I do hope you try it on for size. <3
XO,
Tara
P.S. The May round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind just wrapped up on Sunday and WOWZA did they show up for themselves! Stay tuned ... if you're on the waitlist for the September round, you'll be getting an exciting update / offer in a couple of weeks. ;-)
Even though our kiddos are usually the last in the country to wrap up their school year (end of June), we start to get bit by the Summer bug (literally and figuratively!) around June 1st. And if you're a weather nerd like me, meteorological Summer does actually start June 1st.
So let's welcome it with open arms!
Here's a popsicle recipe collection filled with easy, fun, delicious real food recipes that you can play around with if that's your thing.
And for those already wondering how to manage making progress on their goals with so much fun + socialization to be had, I hope you find this Healthify My Summer Guide helpful!
Enjoy,
Tara
P.S. 2 ways we can work together:
1. TRANSFORM: Body + Mind, my 28-day metabolic health course.
2. 1:1 coaching
Someone has PCOS, prediabetes, hypothyroidism and insulin resistance (like I used to).
Someone else is noticing her hair falling out and is having bloating after meals.
Yet another person is struggling with weight loss resistance, belly fat and elevated triglycerides.
There's brain fog, cravings and arthritis in someone else.
And elevated liver enzymes, blood pressure, fatigue and mood swings are happening in someone else.
The current medical system has us believing that these people should all be seeing separate specialists, likely being put on a range of medications and maybe procedures. The various doctors will never be in communication with each other and the body is seen as separate systems / organs, with no consideration given to the fact that there is cross-talk between EVERY system and cell in our body.
So most people see their custom signs and symptoms as a sign that they need a customized plan of care. And while there is some truth to that, it's typically more like these custom symptoms all require more or less the same plan, with just some small tweaks as needed.
You see, every single client or 'case study' I've listed above will benefit from the same basic principles. While there are no guarantees, the vast majority of people can reverse or greatly improve the damage that lead to those signs, symptoms and diagnoses with the right plan.
The right plan requires a bit of education and a lot more nuance, of course, than I can share in one email but I would like to at least give you the overview today in case you find it helpful. A few weeks back I posted this blog out talking about what I call The Big 10. Here's a bit more on my thoughts for each. What I'm sharing might be hard to hear as it tends to be quite far from how most of us are actually living our lives. I challenge you to notice if and where you feel agitated. Maybe it's something you want to explore more. Maybe it's something that feels entirely out of reach for whatever reason right now (time, finances, bandwidth). That's ok. In many ways this is a list of how we used to live as humans prior to about 100- 200 years ago, but with an updated twist. The cool thing about our health and body composition goals is that we can tend to make great progress with even 1 or 2 small changes that snowball over time. Our choices, thoughts, behaviors and habits really do matter SO much.
Ok, onto some more about The Big 10:
Food -- mostly real, whole, unprocessed or minimally processed food. This food should not have harmful pesticides / herbicides or added hormones. The plants should be grown in nutrient dense soil (rather than monocrop farming). Any animals or fish should be free range / wild caught and given access to their natural food source. We thrive when we eat nourishing, blood-sugar balancing meals and give ourselves plenty of time between meals. Our food is better absorbed and digested when we eat most meals slowly and socialize plenty with people we love who we feel safe around.
Sleep -- we're getting 7-9 hours in a cool and very dark room. We're breathing through our noses.
Light -- the first light we see is the sunrise. We're outside plenty throughout the day (increased time indoors is a risk factor for disease and metabolic dysfunction). No bright or overhead lights on or blue light devices in the few hours before bed. We limit processed, artificial light so our cells truly know when it's nighttime vs. daytime.
Stress -- we reduce it where we can and build resilience in the meantime. We do not allow ourselves to be available to the fear of the entire population at anytime (maybe we limit consumption of news and social media, turn off notifcations, etc.). We purposely infuse more joy into our lives and work towards radical acceptance.
Movement -- we are moving most of the day. This is not your workouts but in between workout times. Increased time sitting is a risk factor for disease and metabolic dysfunction independent of exercise.
Toxins -- we're mindful of the quality of our air, water, soil, hygiene products, cleaning products, etc. and choosing to filter and upgrade where necessary and possible. We're picky about using pharmaceuticals (of course using as necessary, but considering alternatives where possible). We're not smoking or drinking much, if any, alcohol.
Temperature -- we realize our genes have evolved to withstand and thrive under temperature variability. We have so many beneficial and protective mechanisms "built in" in response to heat and cold. Living at room temperature most of our lives in houses, cars, offices, etc. is a risk factor.
Muscle -- we appreciate the importance of muscle on metabolic health and health optimization. We understand we all lose muscle as we get older but do what we can to offset that and slow the decline by strength training regularly (really challenging our muscles!), nourishing ourselves well and eating 0.8 1g of protein per lb of a bodyweight we feel most comfortable at, per day.
Mindset -- we are realistic, but on the optimistic side. We have a solution for every problem rather than a problem for every solution. We are human and have the full spectrum of human emotions, yet have built up coping skills and strategies to accept and move past the muck rather than get stuck there. If we feel this area needs more attention at any point, we make it more of a focus and put in the reps.
Purpose, connection, awe -- we think / journal / meditate on our purpose. Who are we? How can we help this world, our friends, family, community or moment in time better than it would have been otherwise? We make time to connect with others ... sharing a meal, a laugh, an experience, story, ideas, challenges, adventure or some down time. We make time to feel awe.
If this inspires you to take inventory on even 1 tiny aspect of your life, my time writing this newsletter was totally worth it to me!
XO,
Tara
P.S. These 10 areas (plus subsets and many others) are what we dive into in great detail in my 28-day metabolism-boosting course. Metabolism isn't just for body composition changes (though it's that too). Metabolism is how our body is functioning. Metabolism is our health. Here's some more info. on TRANSFORM: Body + Mind. The next round isn't until September but hop on the waitlist if you're interested because I'll be sharing about a cool opportunity in a few weeks. ;-)
One, there is no normal content. You voluntarily clicked on this 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.
I first shared about much of this about 14 months ago. In case you're new around here, want the reminder or wanted the updates to my products / routines, I figured I'd share today! 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 -- "forever chemicals" -- that are 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 and I like 'em! 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). Collagen has also been shown to help boost our own production of collagen. Sweet! 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 help with this too -- you can do this yourself or trade off with a partner. Feels so great, too! Bonus.
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 41 next month 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. For my face, I like Crunchi brand. For my body, I like Beauty by Earth or 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.
Sunglasses. I skip 'em (most of the time). Our eyes are the only part of our brain that interface with the outside world. Our eyes have specialized cells that can tell when we are outdoors and when we are in bright sun. This is important for circadian rhythm setting. If we want our cells to be really good at the daytime tasks and really good at their nighttime tasks, having this strong circadian rhythm is important. But besides that, our eyes can tell our brain to increase skin protection and healing when it senses we are out in the mid-day sun. But not if we lie to our brain by wearing sunglasses all the time and tricking our brain into thinking it's in the shade. Of course this isn't advice. You do you. There would be risks to getting too much sun exposure to your eyes as well. But personally I skip sunglasses most of the time for these reasons. I have also found that I am MUCH more tolerant to the sun now. Back 8+ years ago when I didn't limit sunglass use, my eyes were very sensitive to the sun! That's no longer the case.
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. The reason it "works" so well is that it helps at the level of the mitochondria. Everything is upstream of that.
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 a while back 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. Full disclosure: I've only worn them a handful of times. It's just not a part of my daily routine yet but I do like having the option. I, personally, am not into Botox or fillers so I really appreciate more natural and subtle solutions\
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.
Grounding. Standing barefoot on the grass / dirt / sand or gardening with bare hands, swimming in natural bodies of water ... these all help reduce inflammation by helping us accumulate electrons from the Earth that we pass down the electron transport chain to make cellular energy. This reduces inflammation and the effects are far-reaching and include improved skin (amongst everything else). One thing I've added to the arsenal more recently is a grounding mat and grounding sheet (code GWTARA for 10% off your order) for our bed. These plug into just the grounding port of an outlet (no nnEMFs to worry about) and can help increase time spent grounding by bringing it indoors when necessary. I don't plan for it to replace outdoor time at all! But just another tool to have. I can stand and work on the grounding mat or sleep on the sheet and be grounding all night long. Yes please!
Hope you found at least something here helpful!
Enjoy your week,
Tara
P.S. The next round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind starts in September. 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... plus they will find out about any special offers (hint hint).
P.P.S. If you need more targeted help for yourself or a loved one for health and / or body composition goals ... more accountability, customized nutrition, fitness and lifestyle plan, help navigating healthcare appointments and a 2nd pair of eyes assessing lab work, CGM data, put together the pieces of the puzzle, etc., 1:1 coaching might be a better fit. If interested, fill out the form and I'll get back to you shortly so we can discuss your goals, what it would look like to work together and when I will have availability next.
Some people do it daily.
Some more occasionally.
And there are others who have determined that weighing themselves isn't a great idea for them and their goals.
I recorded this 10-minute video for you all about this decision. Hope you find it helpful!
XO,
Tara
P.S. Some ways we can work together:
1) The next round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind will be in September. It will be the last one I run this year. If you want to make sure you're included, make sure you hop on the waitlist.
2) I offer 1:1 coaching as well. Spots are limited and not always available, but clients are often graduating out of the program so spots do open up fairly often. Fill out the interested form if you'd like me to contact you about timing, availability, and more details.
What if we said that? It would certainly help us get to the root of the issue, wouldn't it? This kind of reminds me of this religious saying that I'm going to butcher here because I'm paraphrasing but let's try ...
A man gets caught in torrential rains. His house is flooding and things are looking grim. He prays to God to help him. A man in a rowboat comes by and yells for him to get in. "No thanks", he says, "God will help me." The rowboat continues on. A motorized boat comes by next. "Jump in. I can get you out of here right away." "No thanks. God will save me." The motorboat passes. Next, a helicopter flies by with a rope dangling, asking the man to hold on tight. "No thanks. I've prayed to God and I'm waiting." The man dies and goes to Heaven. He says, "God, I believed in you and you let me die. What happened?" God says, "I sent you a rowboat, a motorboat and even a helicopter. What more did you expect?!"
I share that story because it reminds me a bit about how many people feel about their bodies, as well. Typically, before we are diagnosed with chronic disease, there were signs and / or symptoms. And when we understand a bit about how our body works, we can recognize those signs and symptoms as being helpful messengers sent to save us and often turn things around.
We say our knee hurts when we've injured it.
We said our head hurts when we have a migraine.
But we never say our metabolism hurts. Yet, we can assume our metabolism IS hurting if we have any of the following....
Excess body fat
Elevated fasting blood sugar
Elevated HgBA1C
High blood pressure
PCOS
Elevated insulin
Elevated triglycerides
Low HDL
Large waist circumference
Elevated triglycerides-to-HDL ratio
Elevated CRP or uric acid
Cravings
Get "hangry"
Hunger and fullness signals out of whack (for some it's low hunger and for others it's excessive or insidious hunger)
Mood disorders and certain other brain metabolic issues (most behavioral / "psych" disorders have a link here)
Brain fog
Reduced muscle mass
Energy crashes
The most recent research tells us only 6.8% of American adults are considered metabolically healthy. And unfortunately, that's using pretty lenient ranges of what they consider normal. In other words, some of those 6.8% still have lab values that are concerning and will likely to lead to eventual disease if unchanged. If we looked at more optimal ranges, ranges that aren't concerning, I suspect that number to be closer to 1-2% of American adults.
I never pour this much time and attention into things out of our control. That feels like a terrible waste of time. The reason I share about these topics so often is because it is largely in our control. Despite genetics and certain things we can't necessarily control like certain environmental toxins, the VAST majority of our metabolic health is on our own shoulders. It's our responsibility. It can worsen at any time. And it can improve -- usually by A LOT -- at any time. The choice is ours. But first we have to recognize if it's even a problem.
If you're in the 6.8% of American adults considered metabolically healthy (or an estimated 1-2% in the optimal ranges as I discussed more about the criteria here), amazing! My guess is you put considerable time and effort into your health. Optimal health doesn't just happen. Keep going!
But if you're part of the 93.2% (or more like 98 - 99% not yet in "optimal" ranges), you can take steps towards reversing metabolic damage right now, today!
It's everything we talk about each week in my newsletter and what I share about everyday on my feed and in stories on instagram. I will continue bringing you tools, resources, tips, tricks, recipes, workouts, mindset strategies and everything in between. And before this blog gets too long, let me share this list:
Food
Sleep
Movement
Stress / fear / joy / radical acceptance
Toxins
Temperature
Light
Muscle
Mindset
Purpose + connection
These are what I call, "The Big 10". The 10 buckets we can each dig through and uplevel, little-by-little. When we get these buckets mostly right most of the time (perfection isn't a thing, nor is it necessary), we get our metabolic health in order. When we have a lot off with these buckets over time, we usually notice one or many of the symptoms and signs of metabolic disease.
What if you need help? You don't know where to start? Or you feel like you're trying things and doing things and not getting the results you want? This is common! The information that's 'out there' and being shared by most healthcare practitioners, blogs and social media accounts is terribly outdated and problematic. If you can, I hope you'll join us for this May round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind. It's my 28-day metabolism course. We're getting to the root of metabolic dysfunction to improve health and achieve fat loss goals by tackling all of the buckets above in great detail and with a doable plan and all the help + guidance you need. Tomorrow is the last day to join. You get access Thursday. We start Monday. I'd love to help you. <3
If you can't join us for this round, stay with me here. My goal is to help as many people as I can regardless of whether we ever get to officially work together or not. I will keep the help coming via free avenues as well. Your metabolic health will shape the quality of your life. It's that important!
XO,
Tara
P.S. Below -- people hardly ever notice "just" fat loss. There are typically improvements in energy, lab work, diseases, health markers and / or symptoms too. All of those signs and symptoms tell us something is off within the way the cell is powered up. This is metabolic dysfunction. When we get to the root of the metabolic dysfunction, all kinds of seemingly 'random' things start to improve. No promises ever because everyone is different, but if you decide to join us, I can't wait to hear what you notice in your own body!
Aaaaand when we have the time and desire to cook. And that's why I've been known to send out MANY recipes, free meal plans and recipe collections here in my newsletter from time to time. ;-)
But sometimes we are in a rush. We haven't meal prepped. We don't feel like cooking. Or some combination of that. Enter: throw together meals. These meals are balanced with protein, fat, fiber and some have intentional carbs. They are designed to nourish us, satiate us and help us make progress on goals like fat loss, muscle-building, blood sugar balance and / or health optimization.
I've recently updated this NO RECIPE NEEDED PFF MEAL IDEAS resource. There are omnivore options, lacto-ovo vegetarian options and vegan options. Regardless if you're new around here and missed getting it last time OR we've been partying together here on my blog for years already, I hope you enjoy!
If you're a 1:1 client, on the waitlist for TRANSFORM: Body + Mind or currently in The After Party, you already have this new version in your resource section and of course you know that tweaking things a little to YOUR unique needs can make a big difference!
Speaking of ... are you getting excited about the May round of TRANSFORM yet? Me too! Enrollment opens tomorrow. It's my 28-day metabolism-boosting course. I'll send you a couple of extra emails this coming week while the cart is open to share more about the course, who it's for and what our process is. We do things in a WILDLY different way and I love sharing why it has been so successful for so many people. <3 Once enrollment closes in a week, we'll get right back to our regularly scheduled programming of weekly emails crafted to help you on your journey, for free! ;-)
Just FYI -- there will only be 1 more round of TRANSFORM this year after this May round ... and it won't be until Fall. Today is the last chance to hop on the waitlist and get a discount code sent to you when enrollment begins tomorrow.
XO,
Tara
P.S. In case you missed it on the socials, here are some recent posts:
We talked about senescent cells here
Metabolic dysfunction in our 20s and 30s vs. 40s and beyond
Outdated vs. updated ways to view "dieting"
Metrics I completely ignore in order to get in excellent strength workouts
Indulgence frequency (this might blow your mind)
How to prevent weight regain
4th phase water and why it matters
And it's great! I'm finally able to post my protein recommendations without all the comments from some traditionally trained nutrition professionals I used to get on the socials up until a few months ago like, "That will ruin your kidneys" and "That's not what the government recommends". (Sufficient protein does not ruin kidney function. Some people with compromised kidney function already need to consume less protein. That's not the same. What I recommendisdifferent from what the government recommends because staying on top of the research on optimal health means there will be differences there.)
So keep getting that protein in!
But let's not forget we have essential fatty acid (fat) needs and fiber plays such a valuable role in nutrition as well! Let's talk about fiber today. Maybe we'll dive into fat in a future newsletter.
Fiber is one way to naturally raise GLP-1 in our bodies.More on that in this post. Fiber helps to make us feel satiated, helps us manage blood sugar, acts as prebiotics (food for our microbiome) and helps us then go on to produce postbiotics (example: butyrate -- these act as signaling molecules and play a big role in many different functions and systems in our body).
I recommend 5-15g of fiber per meal for most people, most of the time. There are some people who seem to need to back off of fiber for a while as they heal their gut, though most people would do best aiming to build back up that fiber once they are healed enough to be able to tolerate it again. Now, three meals a day with 5g of fiber in each would still leave you under the amount recommended. Ideally most women are getting more than 25-30g per day and men are getting at least 35-40g per day.
Here are some high fiber food options:
Beans and Legumes:
Black beans (1/2 cup cooked): 7.5 grams of fiber
Lentils (1/2 cup cooked): 7.8 grams of fiber
Chickpeas (1/2 cup cooked): 6.2 grams of fiber
Split peas (1/2 cup cooked): 8.1 grams of fiber
Vegetables:
Artichokes (1 medium): 6.9 grams of fiber
Broccoli (1 cup cooked): 5.1 grams of fiber
Brussels sprouts (1 cup cooked): 4.1 grams of fiber
Sweet potatoes (1 medium, baked with skin): 3.8 grams of fiber
Carrots (1 medium): 1.7 grams of fiber
Fruits:
Raspberries (1/2 cup): 4 grams of fiber
Avocado (1 medium): 9.2 grams of fiber
Pear (1 medium): 5.5 grams of fiber
Apple (1 medium): 4.4 grams of fiber
Banana (1 medium): 3.1 grams of fiber
Whole Grains:
Quinoa (1/2 cup cooked): 2.6 grams of fiber
Oats (1/2 cup cooked): 2 grams of fiber
Brown rice (1/2 cup cooked): 1.8 grams of fiber
Nuts and Seeds:
Chia seeds (1 ounce, about 2 tablespoons): 10.6 grams of fiber
Flaxseeds (1 ounce, about 2 tablespoons): 7.6 grams of fiber
Almonds (1 ounce, about 23 almonds): 3.5 grams of fiber
Pumpkin seeds (1 ounce): 5.2 grams of fiber
Other:
Acacia fiber (1 tablespoon): 7 grams of fiber
Basil seeds (1 tablespoon): 7 grams of fiber
Lupini bean pasta (1 serving): 15g
Important to note that fiber content may vary slightly depending on factors such as ripeness, cooking method, and specific variety. Many of these high fiber foods check off other nutritional boxes too! Some are intentional carbs, some are fats, and a few have a least a little protein. Others, like the non-starchy veggies, I wouldn't give credit as intentional carbs, fat or protein.
I made this Spring 2024 Recipe Collection for you in case you want to see how to pull this all together in some real meals. There are omnivore recipes, vegan options, vegetarian options. There are breakfasts, lunches and dinners. And they all have 5-15g fiber, at least 30g protein, and fat and intentional carbs dialed in to help with health and body composition goals. I hope you love it!
XO,
Tara
The supplement world can be so confusing, right?
And while they can be helpful for many people, they are unregulated. Yikes! And those who are allowed to prescribe them typically weren't fully informed about them in school nor are they able to take the time to individualize a supplement plan for each patient.
The more holistic docs we pay out of pocket to see often push their own 'proprietary' blends or affiliate brands of supplements and it feels like it could be a conflict of interest.
So we have people not supplementing when they might benefit if they were and other people just winging it without fully understanding implications, interactions and contraindications. Example: many people take vitamin D3 but aren't getting enough magnesium or K2 which are needed to activate D3 and help ensure calcium is deposited in more adaptive places (like bone) rather than maladaptive places (like arteries).
And many other people are just left feeling confused and looking for information any place they can find it. It leaves a lot of opportunity for progress in the system in the future, for sure.
I cannot and do not 'prescribe' supplements. But, we do have an information only, deep dive workshop in The After Party (which is my membership program that everyone gets a free month of after taking my 28-day metabolism-boosting course, TRANSFORM: Body + Mind). Check it out if you're in there now or if you're on the waitlist for the course, just know you'll be getting access to this workshop once the course is over. If you're a 1:1 client, you'll be getting this workshop as well and we'll be chatting about supplements if we haven't already. ;-)
But not all of you are inThe After Party, on the waitlist forTRANSFORM or a 1:1 client! So I wanted to make something for you. THIS SUPPLEMENT GUIDE is for informational purposes only. It's meant to answer some frequent questions I get, explain benefits of various types of supplements and act as a catalyst to start a conversation with your healthcare provider.
Hope it helps!
XO,
Tara
Metabollically-speaking, I was a bit of a disaster. I had PCOS, prediabetes, insulin resistance, hypothyroidism. Plenty of symptoms. Did NOT feel incredible or vibrant.
This chat today isn't about my backstory, but if you're curious, I spoke about that most recently here.
I have reversed all of those conditions naturally. No medications, no targeted supplements. I say this to share that it IS possible. MANY of my clients have reversed all kinds of conditions, come off of their medications or at least cut their doses way back with their doctors. I say that to let you know it's more than just possible, it's within reach for many people ... with the right knowledge and help. The unfortunate news there is that nearly all the advice and knowledge out there currently is inaccurate, outdated or downright damaging. Back to the good news! You're here. :-) And that tells me you're committed to a different way.
I can no longer be diagnosed with any chronic or metabolic conditions. But that doesn't mean it can't creep back for me! Because it's a common question I get asked, I'm going to share some metrics I use personally to keep tabs on my metabolic health. Of course everyone is different. Everyone is starting from different places. And this is just for information purposes, NOT medical advice ... please seek out a provider you trust to discuss your medical history.
This is not everything, I use lots of metrics (both objective and subjective), but here are some important ones:
Blood pressure - if elevated, it tells me my blood vessels aren't dilating well enough and my heart is being overworked. I'd suspect it's from insulin resistance or mitochondrial dysfunction in the endothelial cells.
Waist circumference - if elevated, I'm storing too much inflammatory visceral fat inside and around my organs
Triglycerides - if elevated, it is usually a sign of insulin resistance or excess glucose
HDL - if low, it tells me healthy cholesterol transportation and clearance is blunted
Triglyceride-to-HDL ratio (self calculated) - if elevated, it almost always means insulin resistance
ApoB - if high, it is a risk factor for atherosclerosis and heart disease, particularly in combination with a lifestyle that promotes damage to blood vessels
Fasting insulin - if high, it's a sign of insulin resistance
Fasting glucose - if high, it's a late sign of insulin resistance
HgBA1C - if high, it means my average blood sugar over the past 3 months or so has been elevated enough to be causing damage
Liver enzymes - if elevated, this tells me my lifestyle / environment is causing excessive liver cell death and damage
CRP - if elevated, it's a good indicator that there's some inflammation going on somewhere in my body
Important to note: I'm not typically looking to see "normal" values here, rather aiming to get within ranges I believe (based on many factors, not just my opinion HAHA) to be "optimal" ranges. Unfortunately, one could test within normal limits in every area above and still be well on their way to metabolic damage and disease. Optimal can sometimes be considered the same across the board and sometimes shift a bit based on individual factors.
Here are some of those ranges I look for for myself. Again, I only share because I trust that you'll use this for informational purposes only and understand that as an individual, your target ranges might make sense to be different than mine!
Blood pressure: I want systolic less than 120 and diastolic less than 80. I would consider 120/80 to be too high and would make a plan to bring that down.
Waist circumference: As a woman, I want this under 31.5 inches. (If I were a man, I'd want this under 35 inches)
Triglycerides: I'd like these to stay under 80
HDL: I feel comfortable when this is between 50 and 90
Triglyceride-to-HDL ratio: I want this below 1
ApoB - I like this below 80
Fasting insulin - under 6 makes me happy
Fasting glucose - I'd like to keep this about 70 - 85. At 90 or higher, I'd be ready to take action.
HgBA1C - 5.0 - 5.4 is a good sweet spot (no pun intended)
Liver enzymes (AST + ALT) - I want these no higher than 17 or 18 each
CRP - Ideally less than 0.5
I'd consider any of the above being 'off' to mean I have some work to do on my metabolic health. If I had two or more of these 'off' (as I used to and as 93%+ people do), I'd be even more serious about turning it around.
If you're not where you'd like to be for yourself here, that's ok! You should know that improving the various markers here on this list take some work but are almost always able to be improved. The coolest part is that we tend to FEEL so much better and find we achieve our body composition goals at the same time while we work on these. <3 That's the kind of hard work that's worth it on so many levels. This kind of hard work can also help us reverse disease, prevent all kinds of chronic disease, improve moods, energy levels, hunger / fullness cues, cravings, sleep, libido, rate of aging. If your metabolism is in need of some help, you could consider it a blessing as I have. I'm SO much healthier now than I would've been if I hadn't been sick and hadn't decided to roll up my sleeves and get to work.
It's all the stuff we talk about in my weekly newsletter and over on my instagram page.
It's all the stuff we work on in depth in my 28-day metabolism-boosting course,TRANSFORM: Body + Mindand in my 1-on-1 coaching program and why so many clients tell me they come to me for fat loss but end up also feeling vibrant and improving their lab work as a "side effect". ;-) It's. All. Connected. (And pssst ... it's no accident. We are always working on root causes).
Hope you found this helpful today!
XO,
Tara
I'm not sure if you've been catching the headlines (I'm not much of a mainstream media fan, but browsing the headlines can help me keep a pulse on trends), but with Kate Middleton's recent cancer announcement plus the recent realization that 1/3 of colon cancer diagnoses are now in people under the age of 40, there have been daily articles talking about how cancer is now coming for younger and healthier people. Many such articles spoke to the 'mystery' of it all but is it really a mystery?
Look, we don't have FULL control of our environments, there are certain genetic mutations that increase risk, and we don't yet know all the things as it relates to cancer. And if you've been getting my newsletters for any length of time you know I'm never about doom and gloom. So let me set the stage as to why I think it's no mystery at all that cancer is on the rise amongst younger and 'healthier' people so that we can move forward and connect the dots with what it is we're always trying to do 'round here: improve metabolic health and longevity odds.
If someone were to ask me to do my best to create an environment that would increase cancer risk and rates, I'd tell them this:
Make people afraid of the sun
Keep humans indoors almost all the time
Make them sedentary and even if they workout, make them sedentary outside of their workout times
Have them skimp on sleep
Ask them to have lots of artificial light ... especially in the evenings and night
Spray their food with lots of synthetic pesticides
Practice monocrop farming so the soil (and therefore produce) becomes depleted of micronutrients such as magnesium so that DNA repair is blunted
Increase air + water pollution
Have ultra-processed food be mainstream and more affordable / accessible than real food
Sell cosmetic, hygiene and cleaning products that contain multiple toxins
Stir up daily controversy and expose humans to more fear, terror and anger than they have evolved to process through any form of media possible
Teach people to eat every couple of hours with plenty of processed carbs to help increase insulin resistance
Make alcohol intake a frequent + common thing
Limit lymphatic drainage with underwire bras and hardly any time sweating
Create habits and vices that lead people to eating right before bed
Increase consumption of plastics (like from melting To Go coffee cup liners and lids, tea bags, food storage, TV dinners)
Increase EMFs
This would surely increase oncogenic (cancerous) growth PLUS take out many of the protective measures we have for our body to identify said oncogenic growth at the earliest of cell division and allow our immune system to take care of it. More cancer started, less cancer taken out.
Obviously no one would want this but I write to prove a point ... we have created an environment that is sure to increase cancer potential, yet we (as a collective, maybe not you or I) are shocked that it's happening. The conditions I've listed out above are the unfortunate reality for the vast majority of us .. at least a significant portion of it is.
I promised not all doom + gloom and I'm about to deliver.
MOST of that is in control. MOST of that can be turned around at any age or stage. And get this! The same changes we'd make to increase the odds (that's all we can ask for) in our favor against cancer are the changes we'd make to improve metabolic health at the root, achieve sustainable fat loss, improve blood pressure, blood sugar, slow the aging process, etc.
In case you haven't read it or it's been awhile, the action plan I have laid out in my Metabolism-Boosting Starter Pack would be excellent steps.
Now let's talk finances.
Someone responded to a story I posted last week on Instagram sharing about a waffle I sent in to school with our son. Short version: they were having a pancake party in his class. We always send in our own food with ingredients we feel more comfortable with. I had these pancakes in the freezer and we went with that. He loved it! Our kids are very aware of the choices we make and know SO much about their bodies, it's mind-blowing. No fear around food. Just knowledge.
So someone responded to that story and said something along the lines of, "Ya know not everyone can afford that." And she's right! It's a topic I speak on often on social, here on my newsletter, on blogs, etc. It's one reason why volunteering and giving back is a big part of my business and always will be. And it's something I wanted to talk about here today as well.
Those waffles are expensive. The high protein pasta we buy is expensive. The organic produce, free range eggs .... it's so darn expensive! Groceries in general have gone up considerably in the last couple of years as is and unfortunately in our society if you want items without extra pesticides or inflammatory ingredients, it costs more.
I can't stand that! I can't wait for that to change. Everyone deserves to eat real, healthy, nutritious food if they so desire. I've sent out the "How to save money on groceries newsletters" and made the posts and I plan to continue that kind of content weaved in. That being said, I wanted to point out a few things that we, personally, do to help.
I'm grateful that we can and do splurge on pricey waffles as occasional treats for the kids. I know not everyone can and that makes me sad. Also, we save money in other ways.
After being as sick as I used to be and seeing first-hand how important food quality was in me reversing all of my chronic conditions, we've decided to make health prevention (including groceries) a higher percentage of our budget.
I don't buy alcohol or coffee shop coffees (well, rarely).
I don't purchase expensive clothing, purses, jewelry, sunglasses.
I DIY when I can (make dry shampoo, dishwasher detergent, repair clothing, cook and bake -- often from scratch).
I started gardening on a larger scale last year.
Certain food items we simply never buy (jam is coming to mind ... I make it with organic fruit and chia seeds. I buy the organic fruit in bulk in the frozen section and chia seeds in bulk as well. I'm making this jam for pennies on the dollar compared to store-bought and it's quick, easy and delicious).
Also ... life is nice + full these days and I can't Susie Homemaker everything! So the above also exists alongside the more convenient health options like boxes of Simple Mills cupcake mix for the days when I need to whip up a fast dessert for last minute company and some done-for-me fermented sauerkraut that I just have to struggle to open but otherwise not put an ounce of work into and non-toxic deoderant that shows up at my doorstep after I just "add to cart". Healthy convenience is expensive.
Everyone's financial situation is different. I'm not implying that everyone has the same resources to even reallocate funds as much as I wish that situation was different. But in case any of the above helps shed some light on how one family on a budget incorporates both convenience and elbow grease into their overall plan for better health, I figured I'd share.
I'm asked fairly often on social media to share more: share the things we have on hand and buy, the things we use, the things we make and recipes, etc. So whether it's free, low cost or more of an investment, I'm happy to share. When we are being consumers of content (me too -- anyone's content), I think our job is is to take the things that apply to you and feel good and leave the things that don't. It's such an important skill for managing overall stress, too!
Leaving you off with my tried-and-true, so-easy-I-can-hardly-call-it-a-recipe, Chia Jam Recipe:
Add a bunch (1, 2, 3 cups) of frozen fruit of choice (strawberries have been the go-to lately) to a saucepan and heat on stovetop medium heat.
As the berries start to soften, use a potato masher to squish. It should become mostly liquid with just some chunkier pieces of the skins of the fruit. At this point, take off the heat and mash one last time.
Add chia seeds -- I eyeball it because you really can't mess this up but probably about 1-2 T per cup of fruit -- and stir. Let sit to cool down and jam will thicken too.
Once fully cool, place in a sealed container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Alternatively, you can freeze into ice cube trays and pop out and store cubes in freezer-safe bag so you can transfer just what you're going to use to the fridge a day or so in advance.
If you're a visual person, the second slide in my "Recipes" highlight on instagram shows me making blueberry chia jam. Not the Recipes 2 highlight, just "Recipes". You'll have to scroll over a bit to find it.
Hope you have an awesome week!
XO,
Tara
P.S. If you need some help with your health and / or body composition goals, there are 2 ways we can work together:
1. The next round of my 28-day metabolism-boosting course, TRANSFORM: Body + Mind, will be starting next month! Make sure you're on the waitlist to be kept in the know and to receive the special discount code when enrollment begins.
2. I offer 1-on-1 coaching as well. It's a very high touch point kind of coaching program (we're diving into your labs, custom workouts, custom nutrition, tons of accountability -aka I'm bothering you pretty often. LOL). So, spots are limited. I do have people graduating out of the program often. Fill out the interested list if, well, you're interested. We'll chat more and I can give you an idea on when a spot will be available for you.