Make room for all of the freshness spring brings. 

Spring is in the air! Flowers are blooming, and birds are chirping.

Okay, this may not be true in Alaska, but that doesn't mean you can’t start spring cleaning!

You may think spring cleaning is just for your closets. Time to change out your winter clothes for shorts and tank tops.

It's time to clear out the kitchen closets.

Don't forget about the closet in your kitchen, otherwise known as the pantry. The pantry is one of the most overlooked areas of the house for spring cleaning.

Just like you wear different clothes in the spring and summer, you'll also eat different foods. Sure, there are some staples that you eat year-round, but as the sun warms you up, Mother Nature provides you with different food to eat.

During the cold winter months, you probably stock warm, comfort foods that can last a long time in your pantry.

Spring brings light, fresh meals that are easy to make. Now's the time to...

This humble veggie can slim you down and speed you up. 

More powerful than the spinach that Popeye used to eat, beets are a performance-enhancing powerhouse. 

I’m all for finding ways to enhance my own personal performance (and yours). If a food can help me run farther and faster, feel like I’m using less effort, and help me recover faster, I’m in!

And, before you start wondering…I’m no super athlete. I’m a slightly better than average, mid-life, lifelong active person. I’m a Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach by trade, so while I’m consistently doing something, I’ve never been a champion athlete, but often place top third in my age category for running races. 

I’ve always known “beets are good for you.” They’re vegetables, so of course they’re good for you. 

I started hearing the buzz about them in athletic circles maybe 8 years ago. I was intrigued and, admittedly,...

Are smoothies healthy? Are they really just sugar bombs masquerading as health food?

A couple of weeks ago, I asked the question, do you need protein powder? in my Tipsy Tuesday email. That grew into a blog post and an article posted on a platform called Medium.

You know I love answering questions. I find that if one person has a question, many of you have the same question. 

Here's one that came in yesterday: 

What are your suggestions for watching sugars in fruits and vegetables?

I love this question. It's simple and demonstrates how confusing nutrition in the popular press can be. 

The TLDR (too long, didn't read) answer 

The short answer is that you don't have to worry about the sugar you eat in fruits and veggies. At all. You cannot overdose on fruit or veggies. 

While fruit does contain sugar, it's packaged completely differently from sugar that is added to processed foods and fruit drinks.

• The simple sugar in...

“I lost 30 pounds and it’s all your fault.”

As a Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach, these words are usually music to my ears. But this greeting came from someone who wasn’t my client. She was an acquaintance and former client (from 10+ years ago). We run into each other occasionally, and often our conversations meander around to weight, food, and health. For purposes of this article, I’ll call her Annie.

“Hooray,” I said, “What did you do?”

“I took your advice and stopped drinking.”

Wow! I often advise my weight-loss clients to stop drinking if they are serious about losing weight. It’s a rare moment when that advice is heeded, and the results are so tangible.

Annie didn’t drink to excess. She is the president of a non-profit though, so wining and dining clients and donors is a regular part of her job. She attends events, dinners, and lunches regularly where she may have 1-2 drinks and maybe enjoy...

There are so many health benefits to living a plant-based lifestyle. The benefits compound when you ditch (or greatly reduce) the animal-based foods and beverages in your life.

You may already know the big benefits:

• Weight loss
• Reducing or eliminating medications.
• Reducing joint pain and inflammation.
• Reducing cholesterol and blood pressure.

Did you know there are even more benefits?

I’ve been living a plant-based lifestyle, and I coach my clients to do the same. Here are some of my favorite benefits that I don’t see anyone talking about. They can show up in kind of weird ways.

1. Spend less time cleaning up. This is probably my favorite. I use less dish soap, and I rarely scrub any pots or pans. Nothing sticks. There are no drippings to clean up, no grease to get rid of. Most of the dishes only need a rinse in hot water. I actually love doing the dishes these days, well, as much as you can love any chore that you have to do. It takes me minutes, and my dishes are...

Health and wellness can seem complex and overwhelming, especially when you’re a woman over 40. By this time in your life, you feel like you’ve tried everything to manage your weight and health. On top of your own experience, every friend and neighbor has a story to share with you about their own weight loss or health journey. Things can get complicated very quickly.

• There are all things you haven’t been doing for the past 20 years (or more).
• Then there are all the new fitness crazes (should be doing Pilates or HIIT?).
• Throw in the complications of Keto, Intermittent Fasting, and Menopause, and it’s easy to see why you might opt out altogether.

There has to be an easier way.

And there is.

Meet The Four Fs.

I like to think of health and wellness in terms of The Four Fs… Food, Fitness, Feelings, and Friends. Mastering each of these categories is simpler than you think.

Food

What you put into your body determines what comes out in terms of weight and...

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.

If it doesn’t work, why is it popular?

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 the top 3...

Have you said this, “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 thousands of meal plans. Each plan was customized to my client's caloric needs (for weight loss, maintenance, or weight gain) and customized for different food preferences (gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, low-carb, even fast food, and dozens of other options). They included shopping lists, recipes, and food substitution lists.

Do you want to know the truth?

The overwhelming majority of people didn't follow their plan. 

Sure, a few did, but they were not the norm. The people who do follow the plan all have...