I’ve been helping women (and a few men) to lose weight and sustainably embody strength and health without starvation or body-breaking workouts for over 20 years.

Intermittent Fasting (IF) is hugely popular in the weight-loss world. Popularity is not an indicator of effectiveness. I know that sounds weird.

Why would something be popular if it doesn’t work?

There’s a bit of legend, machismo, and toughness that is implied with IF. If you can successfully deny yourself food for any length of time, you’re “conquering” yourself. You’re exhibiting willpower of steel. At least, that’s what people think when they hear you talking about it.

That has not been my personal experience with IF, nor has it been the experience of my clients.

The reality is that IF doesn’t work for everyone. For some, it sets up binge-purge cycles. Others are left with an overwhelming sense of failure when their bodies rightfully overrule their willpower.

Here are...

Want to feel Ah-MAZING in your own body? 

If you answered yes, this is for you.

If you want to go from cringing every time you look in the mirror to loving the skin you’re in, then you have to STOP telling yourself these 3 things: 

• Stop telling yourself that you suck for letting yourself go. 
• Replace it with:
  I love me for everything I've gone through and survived. 

• Stop telling yourself it’s too late to have the body and the health that you want.
• Replace it with:
  The best time to change my body and health is right now! 

• Stop telling yourself you fail every time you try to make a change. 
• Replace it with:
  I keep trying until it works.

You’re probably asking yourself, why does this matter to me right now, at this particular moment in my life? 

Here’s why this matters (or it should matter) to you most…

• You're not going to lose 30 pounds in 30 days, but the only way to see...

Pick up something heavy and put it down. Do it again. Do it often. Doing this keeps you strong, healthy, and active. It is the Fountain of Youth. 

Why should you care more about muscle now? 

"Muscle mass decreases approximately 3–8% per decade after the age of 30 and this rate of decline is even higher after the age of 60. This involuntary loss of muscle mass, strength, and function is a fundamental cause of and contributor to disability in older people." Published in a study in 2010 by the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Department of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

This isn't urban legend. Muscle loss in aging has been studied and documented. 

If you're reading this, you're over 30.

You're probably over 50, which means you may have already lost 6-16% of the muscle mass you had before you were 30.

Do the math, and it's a slippery slope to 0 muscle mass (you can't actually...

If you’re working on creating healthier habits or losing weight, get your mind in the game first. If your thoughts circle around all of the reasons you can’t make a change, then you won’t make a change. Instead of mastering new habits, you’ll sabotage your efforts ending up in a pool of frustration and self-doubt.

Here are 5 simple thoughts to turbo-charge your efforts and have you smashing your goals.

1. Set short-term goals. Regardless of how you got to where you are today, believe that today is a new day and that you CAN make a change. One way I like to do this is to focus on the short-term. For example, “This meal or snack will be full of healthy items.” If you stay focused on THIS meal or snack, you can make a healthy choice right now and not worry about what’s happening next. As you string together each “now” choice, days and weeks can go by in which you’re making a healthy choice right now.
2. Re-frame. As I mentioned in...

Our beliefs dictate our behavior. This simple statement has proven itself true again and again, especially when it comes to weight loss or creating healthy habits. 

I constantly see 3 beliefs that lead to failure in this area. And I consistently see that people harboring these beliefs don’t know they’re there. I’m going to share the beliefs, tell you how to recognize them and (the best part), tell you how you can kick them to the curb to become the healthy, strong, confident person you are meant to be. 

Belief #1: I’m not worthy or I don’t deserve to be healthy, strong, happy. 

•  How to recognize it: Your self-talk is harsh, mean, and negative. “I can’t get my f@t a$$ to the gym.” “I’m too stupid to meal prep.” I don’t know WTF is wrong with me that I can’t do this.” Being mean to ourselves has led to the success of exactly zero people. Contrary to what you see on TV and in the...

Have you said this to yourself? “If only someone would tell me what to eat, I’d be so much healthier.” 

Or, even better, “If someone would come to my home and cook healthy, delicious meals for me, I’d finally lose the weight (or lower my blood pressure or not be pre-diabetic). 

I have some bad news for you. 

It won’t work. 

It never does. 

How do I know? 

I’ve handed out hundreds, if not thousands of meal plans to as many people. Each plan was customized to their caloric needs (for weight loss, maintenance, or weight gain). I customized the plans for different food preferences (gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, low-carb, even fast-food and dozens of other options).  

Do you want to know the truth? The overwhelming majority of people don’t follow a plan. 

Yes, there are a few that do follow the plan, but they are not the norm. The people that do follow the plan all have one thing in common,...

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Did you see the Adele-Oprah interview? Even if you haven’t, it’s almost impossible to miss the hundreds of articles that have been posted and video clips popping up everywhere online.

While the fitness industry capitalizes on “Adele goes to the gym and loses 100 pounds,” I noticed something different in her comments about her body.

Her reason for going to the gym in the first place had nothing to do with weight-loss or body image. She seems perfectly comfortable with her body regardless of her size. 

She started going to the gym to manage the crippling anxiety she had as she went through her divorce.

Why this is important: Adele looked at going to the gym as a reward. It was the one task in her day that kept her grounded when things were spiraling out of control. The “I’m working out at this time with my trainer” appointment gave her structure at a time when her world seemed to be collapsing. 

"Set SMART Goals," they said.

"SMART Goals are how to get things done," they said.

"SMART Goals are the secret to success," they said.

I thought and thought. I diagramed, white-boarded, and analyzed what I wanted to achieve. I refined, re-framed, and word-smithed. Finally, I had it. I had a SMART goal.

You know that feeling? You're struggling with a concept, and your brain hurts from thinking about it so much? It's followed by a flood of relief when you realize you've worked out the problem. I was at that point. I thought, "I've got it! I've figured it out." I have my goal, and it's SMART, and now everything is going to change.

But it didn't.

The goal was there. It checked all of the boxes. It was SMART. Apparently, I wasn't quite so smart.

What was the goal?

I will lose 25 pounds by (insert date here, usually six months out).

Let's double-check it for SMARTness.

Specific? Yup…25 pounds.

Measurable? Yup…25 pounds.

Achievable? Yup…6 months is 24-26 weeks, 1-2...

Getting started adding more veggies into your current meal rotation can be intimidating. I spent years avoiding the kitchen for two reasons:

1. I didn't want to take on a stereotypical "woman in the kitchen" role. Truth be told, I failed "Home Economics" in high school partly on purpose because I didn't want to excel at being a housewife. 
2. I didn't believe I had the skills to make food that was palatable, much less delicious. 

I would love to hear YOUR reasons for not cooking for yourself. If you're a member of The Women's Wellness Academy, visit the Community Chat and share why you don't cook. If you're not a member, send an email to me at [email protected]. 

Here's the truth. Both of these beliefs were preventing me from being my healthiest. Could I change what I believe? Yes! And once I did, I started loving time in the kitchen. I have the skills to make delicious food, and so do you. 

Let's look at my first belief. I...