Not only is it soup season but January is also National Soup Month! As a new Minnesotan-by-marriage, I thought I would share my new absolute favorite soup that is VERY popular in the North Star State: Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. Did you know wild rice is the state grain? I do now!

I’m going to give you the stovetop recipe but have also made the soup in the Instant Harry Potter, just so you know. The directions for stovetop chicken and wild rice soup are pretty universal from what I’ve seen but here are a few things to note:

• I was mainly inspired by this recipe which includes the Instant Pot directions
• Dairy isn’t a friend to my skin so instead of making a roux to thicken the soup, I used a can of full-fat coconut milk
• I also pretty much universally use this vegan Not Chick’n product instead of chicken broth because I LOVE the taste.
• The use of coconut milk plus the vegan stock makes this soup dairy-free, gluten-free and, if you choose not to add chicken, it’s downright vegan and still tastes amazing! If you want to make this completely grain-free, just add in more celery!

​Ready? Let's do this.

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS:
1 tbsp cooking oil (I used avocado oil)
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 stalks celery, sliced
5 carrots, sliced
8oz sliced baby bellas/creminis
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 Tbsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 cup wild rice (a special shout out to my client Myra who brought be back REAL MN wild rice as a gift! It was YUMMY)
6 cups chicken broth
1 already-made rotisserie chicken
1 can full-fat coconut milk
3-4 handfuls chopped curly kale

DIRECTIONS

• Heat oil over medium heat. When hot, sauté onion until translucent.
• Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Add celery, carrots, mushrooms, bay leaf, Old Bay, salt, rice and broth.
• Bring to a boil; once the boil is reached, lower heat and simmer the soup, partially covered, for 45 minutes, or until rice is tender.
• While the soup cooks, get your already-cooked-so-it-saves-you-a-lot-of-time rotisserie chicken (preferably from Costco says dad). Get rid of the skin and then start taking the meat off the bones. Cut into small pieces or pull it apart. Place the chicken to the side.
• Turn the heat off and add in the coconut milk. Stir until it’s fully incorporated.
• Then, stir in the kale and cover. Get it in the mixture so the hot soup cooks it down.
• Once cooked down a little, add the chicken in.
• Serve hot!
  
  

This pot of soup can totally last you the work week. It will solidify somewhat in the refrigerator and the rice will absorb a lot of liquid; this is normal. Feel free to add more broth or coconut milk to soupify it if needed.

If you’re like me and like things to be a touch spicy, add in a little sriacha, live on the wild (rice) side!

Enjoy!

Want to figure out how to make time for health and exercise while also creating your best life?
​Let's get to it!

DIRECTIONS:
Read through the below and take it one step at a time. Pick the step that sounds the easiest for you to do and layer from there. 

NOTE: I am not pretending to know your schedule, the demands in your life or who controls your calendar. I will assume you still get to choose how to take care of your health, though, so I hope this is helpful.

1. Hold a meeting with yourself at the end of your workweek, before you settle into weekend mode. Schedule it out ahead of time. Make yourself a cup of tea, get your calendars together and breathe.
2. Review what you want to do/accomplish/get done in the next week or month or season and when those things are "due"; I'd keep this list relatively short (like, 3-5 things). List them out.
3. Place the 1-2 next steps you need to take to get closer to the “due” dates.  Ex. Are you going to a beach vacation in February and want to feel your best in a bathing suit? What are the 1-2 steps you need to take this week to know you’re working closer to that goal this week?
4. Prioritize what needs to come before another thing. Which is more important to you: Using all of your spare time to finish up a project or making time to get three workouts in this week? Trust me when I say I’m not judging if you choose the project over those three workouts once in a while: It’s life, it happens. It's when choosing something over exercise becomes a trend that it's time for a serious talk with yourself about what you really want and value.
5. (I'm about to get geeky) Color code your calendar and schedule your to-dos in! For example: My client sessions show up on my Google calendar in yellow; my “working on the business” is purple; my personal stuff is blue; my couples stuff is green. Some weeks there’s hardly any blue or green and what that tells me is I may need more of a light work schedule the following week. ​

6. Execute. Stick to the plan as much as you can and alter things when needed. It will teach you what really matters to you. It might be illuminating to see how much time NOT having a plan is sucking out of your life.

Time is the only thing in life that we can never get back. It is not a renewable resource. Doing what you can to be strong and healthy can only lengthen the time you have in the world. Invest in this self-meeting time to invest in how you use your time so it pays off dividends in creating your best life.

Still need help figuring out when to make time for exercise and healthy eating? Contact me via email or phone!

Consider that it’s not advanced age that makes our bodies ache. It’s the habits we’ve adopted over years and years that do.

​Many seek the help of a personal trainer or movement specialist to help them move and feel better. We spend the day sitting at a desk or in the car. We Netflix and Chill on the couch more and more as the cold weather settles in. We spend a good amount of time looking at our smartphones and tablets with our heads in front of our bodies.

Needless to say, there are many reasons our bodies may not feel fabulous when we move about the world. Seeking the help of movement pros like us to feel and move better so we can be stronger and healthier is a great first step! So then you spend a few hours every week at the gym. And you feel better when you walk out! And when we see you again the following week and we ask how your body feels, turns out it still feels achy and not close to 100% again.

Why?

Because when we leave the gym we might be going back to our same old posture habits that are creating the problems in the first place.

What are some of these postures and what can we do instead? Allow me to show you!

Sitting In a Chair
Oy, sitting in a chair. What more can I say about this topic? We all KNOW what we’re supposed to do but nevertheless we slouch! We have rounded shoulders, scooped-under pelvises, 
forward head posture. Our upper traps always feel tight at the end of the day, our low backs feel dull and achy. It's a mess.

The Fix: I want to share two things: First, I’m going to share this video by body guru Evan Osar (who I’m giving a shout-out to right now because this post was inspired by his talk at the Elite Fitness and Performance Summit this past September!). In it, he demonstrates where your hips should be situated in a chair to allow your spine to be optimally aligned but ALSO goes through the importance of breathing and not holding in your stomach all day (gripping, as he calls it). OMG I cannot underscore the importance of this point. But I’ll try later on in this post. In the meantime, please take 5 minutes to watch this video.

​Second, check your feet. If you’ve gone through all of the tips Evan talked about in his video but your feet don’t quite lay flat on the floor, you may be in a losing battle. Your feet will find the floor and that might mean your low back ends up mega rounded. Do your feet not feel the floor? Elevate them! 

Legs Crossed
Do you sit cross-legged? And favor one side over the other? Your low back, hip and/or knee pain could stem from this position. Crossing your legs elevates your crossed-side hip which changes the position of your lumbar spine which alters the position of your mid back and shoulders. Looking below the hips, sitting this way can also cause knee pain.

The Fix: See “Sitting in a Chair Posture”. If you really, truly love sitting cross-legged, use it sparingly and try switching sides. ​

Couch posture: The Mermaid
You’re Netflix and Chilling and sitting into your hip like a mermaid. Over time you may feel this in your hips, knees and low back.
​
The Fix: See the description of the Fix above but if this is truly your FAVORITE couch posture, try not to favor just one side and get up occasionally for some resets. ​

Carrying a Bag on One Shoulder
You may be carrying a diaper bag or a giant purse with a computer, full water bottle and your life in it. On one shoulder. The weight? I just weighed my bag and it came in at ten pounds. What might this do to your body? It can shift your rib cage to the opposite side of the bag to even out weight distribution. That shifts your spine laterally so over time you could be giving yourself lifestyle-induced scoliosis. One shoulder sits higher than the other. Your pelvis may rotate which means your hips will be in a compromised position which can leave your knees and even ankles unstable.

The Fix: Either get yourself a hot little bagpack, get a rolling bag or switch shoulders throughout the day. Or, if you can figure it out (because I have not), try carrying less around with you! ​

Butt- and Ab-Gripping
Sadly I'm not providing photos for these ;) What I mean by "gripping" is holding muscles in their tightened positions over time. Like the muscles are trying to "grip" something the way a baby grips onto a finger. Keeping your abs and glutes tight for extended periods of time is the equivalent of holding your shoulders up to your ears. It's no bueno. Many of us have been taught to "hold in our belly buttons" or "suck it in" or "squeeze your butt". There are times and places for these cues (like if you're deadlifting a heavy weight for example). But when you go about your day, your stomach and glute muscles should be nice and relaxed. Most of our body pain comes from not being able to breathe properly and most of the time we can't breathe properly when our muscles are all tensed up.

The Fix: BREATHE. Do a body scan throughout the day to check that your stomach muscles and glutes aren't "white knuckling". Adjusting to this new "norm" takes time and step one is to be aware of when you're gripping.
​

I swear I’m not trying to use scare tactics but I am trying to drive home the point that these seemingly benign postures we take up can, over time, really alter the state of our bodies.

If you can optimize what happens to your joints in the other 23 hours you are not at the gym, you will soar with strength gains and feel better.

Did I leave anything out? Are there postures you’ve abandoned and felt better without? Share in the comments! Do YOU need help feeling and moving better? Contact me on the phone or text or by email!

I have some follow-up questions:
In your experience, have you been able to snap your fingers and change your habits and actions overnight? Snap your fingers and show up at the gym three times per week? Snap your fingers and eat the appropriate ratio of carbs, proteins and fat?

If you're like me the answer is a big no. 

If we truly want to change something in our lives, we have to start somewhere, right? But could it be our Point A should have actually been Point D? Instead of jumping straight into changing our actions, what if we started with changing the stories we tell ourselves FIRST, made THAT Point A?

How do you do that?

Well, I decided to ask my good friend, leadership coach and CEO of WeInspireWe, Tami Chapek. She explains, "[Self] awareness is the mission-critical first step in any kind of self-improvement effort. When wanting to make a change, one must first identify their current beliefs and behaviors around the topic. Easier said than done, I know, which is a huge reason why coaching exists (we don't often take the time to ask or push ourselves on the hard questions).  

"Discovering this takes a lot of soulful reflection and time answering 'why' like, 'What are these habits I want to change?' followed by, 'Why do I have these habits in the first place?' and 'What's holding me back/why can't I move forward?'

"Answering these questions with a really honest answer - not the easy answer - is key.

"The 'why' helps us to discover what is going on under the surface and what internal block is getting in the way. In coaching, we say there are four blocks that can stop us from being successful and/or hold us back from making a change:

1. Assumption - because something has happened this way before, it will always we this way (i.e. I have never been able to be consistent with working out so why would this time be any different?) 
2. Interpretation - an opinion that you create about an event or situation in life (i.e. a friend cancels lunch plans so you think it's because they don't want to see you) 
3. Limiting Belief - something that you accept that limits you; can be cultural but just lacking the belief that something could actually be different (i.e. a woman can't be president)
4. Gremlin - the inner voice telling us we aren't enough/negative self talk (i.e. I am worthless without working 60+ hours a week) 

"We want to identify what block is holding us back. Each has a slightly different nuance in how you'd try to address it but the overarching theme is to challenge that thought/belief with 'how true is that?' and 'how is that serving you?'. The main idea is to really identify what the block or thought is (awareness is key!!) and then begin to think about how to reframe it, rethink it, challenge it, restructure it, etc."

What are the next steps, you ask? 

1. Schedule some time with yourself to sit down with a piece of paper, a pen and an open mind. 
2. Write down what you've been wanting to change.
3. Write out anything you think is holding you back. Feel free to make this a stream of consciousness exercise, just write all of your thoughts down without judgement.
4. See if anything really strikes a cord and look at what kind of block it is.
5. Answer the questions "How true is that?" followed by "How is that serving you?"
6. Write a new story for yourself.

Need more guidance or want to be contacted with Tami? Please feel free to reach out to me my email or phone!

Tami Chapek is the founder and head coach of WeInspireWe – a unique career coaching and leadership development company dedicated to building strong leaders and enhancing performance for teams. This includes working collaboratively with clients together to answer two fundamental questions - "who are you" and "what do you want"? The combination of these results work together to establish vision and clarity so that they can move forward with confidence, focus and commitment to get that new job and reaching new heights both professionally and personally. With 18 years in a corporate environment, WeInspireWe brings a blend of coaching, leadership development and branding expertise together to support clients in creating their unique "story" to exponentially further their growth and leadership potential. ​

A few weeks ago, I wrote that I came home from the Elite Fitness and Performance Summit with so many things I wanted to share with you. This week I want to talk about how pushups have inspired me. No, we did not learn about pushup technique (this was a business summit), and no, we did not find out that the next trend in fitness is pushup-only Crossfit.

What I did learn is the power of community coming together for philanthropy. “What does THAT have to do with pushups?” you ask. Well, I’ll tell you AND if you read all the way to the end of this post, you’ll get a link to a handy video to help you do some awesome pushups yourself, no matter how versed in fitness you are!
​

​We know that 1 out of 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and TruFit certainly has a good number of survivors under its small roof. We also know access to get a diagnosis or to receive care isn’t easy for many women to afford which is why we’ve chosen the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force to be our charity this month. TruFit is pledging $.50 for every pushup done at TruFit* from October 1-31. As of right now, the clients who train at TruFit Evanston have done over 600 pushups! That means we have raised roughly $300 and counting to date! WOOOHOOO!!!! (Huge shout-out to my friend Jim Herrick from Power Source for this idea!)

One of the coolest things I get to do as a business owner is to have philanthropy as part of my business’ core values. I was inspired to do that by my business coach Pamela who created a program that coaching partners like myself can participate in called Revolution for a Cause. Thanks to RFAC, fitness businesses around the world (like IzzyFit and TruFit) can support each other to give back, either by raising money or volunteering hours for causes or charities we care about. Since RFAC started, we have raised a combined total of $873,681 (SO CLOSE TO $1M!!!) and have volunteered 5012 hours and TruFit and IzzyFit are proud of being a small part of those numbers for the last three years.
​

I have felt really conflicted in the past about talking about philanthropic efforts because I was brought up believing that doing good should NOT be done to gain the praise of others (it shouldn’t). I also know, though, that it’s thanks to other people’s philanthropic stories that I’ve gotten really excited about it. My purpose for giving back is to practice empathy and because I’m fortunate to GET to do this. For others, purpose may be to find a cure; to help people find love; to drive conversations about difficult topics. No matter what, I hope we can all get behind helping make this world a better place together in one way or another.
​

That’s my story this week, friends. To find out more about our October challenge (and maybe how to get involved in one of a few different ways), click here. And to watch our handy-dandy pushup tutorial video, click HERE!

“I’ll start eating healthier after I get back from vacation next month.”
“I’ll start going to the gym after I’ve lost a few pounds.”
“I didn’t have time to go grocery shopping this week so I’ll eat better next week.”

Do any of these sound familiar? How many times have you had a good idea for how to get to the gym, eat better, live a healthier lifestyle but found reasons to stand in your way of taking that first step?

Tell you what: The best plan is the one you start, taking that very first step.

For context, I have been working writing down sales system for TruFit. This is something I watched my predecessor do over the course of four years; this is what I’ve been doing for almost two years myself. And yet, it took me THREE MONTHS to write down what I do and how I do it so that I can teach someone else to take over that task.

What am I waiting for? Why am I dragging my feet with this? What is standing in the way of me actually taking ONE HOUR to write down something I already know how to do? WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME? Well… These are strikingly similar questions we may have asked ourselves about getting through the gym doors. Right? Or eating that first healthy meal?

At the end of talking about my issue, my amazing coach Pearla Phillips said to me, "Do not let your planning stand in the way of you starting."

Those questions above: They're really judge-y. They don’t help me take that first (or second, third, etc) step forward. Those are not questions I would ask a friend or loved one if they were having trouble taking the first step. And why wouldn’t we talk to ourselves the same way we would talk to our best friend?

When faced with procrastination, what if we tried another tactic on for size? What if we focused on seeing what the future might look like if we took that first step -- no matter where we might be in the planning process -- instead of picking apart the present moment in which we feel stuck in the first place?
​
Let’s create a case study in which an individual wants to start eating healthier food at lunch. She’s been saying this for a while but hasn’t figured out when she can meal plan and prep.

Here are 5 questions I might ask if I was coaching this imaginary woman:

1. What, right now, is one small step you can take even if your plan isn’t polished or timing isn’t great?
2. What is the worst thing that would happen if you started today or tomorrow?
3. How would you take care of that worst thing if it did happen?
4. What is the best thing that could happen if you started today or tomorrow?
5. So, now, when will you execute this first small step?

What if our “case study” asked herself these questions? It might go a little like this:

What, right now, is one small step you can take even if your plan isn’t polished or timing isn’t great?
Make myself a salad at the salad bar.

What is the worst thing that would happen if you started today or tomorrow?
My salad could suck and feel unsatisfying and then I’d go eat a brownie.

How would you take care of that worst thing if it did happen?
Move on, I guess. Try again at the next meal and make sure there's at least something small in my lunch that I look forward to.

What is the best thing that could happen?
The salad might taste pretty good and not be as hard to make as I thought it would be and I continue on for a long time!

So, now, when will you execute this first small step?
At lunch.
​
Boiled down, what does our procrastination usually come down to?

Fear of failure.

And how bad would it ACTUALLY be if we failed? In the grand scheme, not that bad! I might argue it would even be good. Because what can we learn from failing — or envisioning the worst thing that could happen? We'd figure out how to get up, learn from the falling down and move on, one small step at a time.

I don't EVEN want to admit that summertime is on its dessert course. Labor Day is a few weeks away, school starts next week for a lot of people here in the Evanston area (and may have already started in your neck of the woods!). As soon as the bagpacks, binders, crayons and calculators go on sale, we itch to either start or get back into a proper exercise routine. To kick it up a notch! To get in shape! To make it work!

Whether you're brand new to exercise or have taken a hiatus and want to get back into it, I want to share 5 things you should know before you jump in.

• Meet yourself where you are. As trainers, it’s our job to create a program for you that is in line with your goals and needs, keeping in mind previous injuries, your current fitness level so you can DO the program and work to grow out of it. What I would stress for you to you is to understand where you currently are and not where you think you SHOULD be. The shoulds will only stand in the way of you focusing on the process and progress you are able to make. The shoulds will steal the wins you gain along the way. Celebrate your starting off point because with consistent work, you'll be able to look back and celebrate how far you've come.
• Weight loss (and weight gain are not linear). Whether you’re looking to lose weight or gain it, know that the process — if you want results to last a long time — will be more of a long-term game and not an overnight hurrah. It’s pretty common to want to weigh in/take measurements every few days or so to track your progress and while I'm known to talk people out of doing that, there’s plenty of research that shows people can feel more motivated if they see success early on in the journey. SO: If you choose to weigh in/measure more frequently than you normally do, please keep these things in mind:
  • It is NORMAL for weight to fluctuate throughout the day, week and month! I repeat: NORMAL.
  • Those 5 lbs that crept up over the weekend are very likely not fat gain (it would be SO HARD to eat enough in that time frame to cause true weight gain). It is way more likely to be fluid retention! Trust me on this. 
  • Look for trends with your numbers every 3 weeks or so. Yep, that’s right, not even week to week! Look at week 1, week 4, week 7 and so on, to have a better idea of what's really happening.
• Abs really are made in the kitchen. Food plays a huge role in fitness goals, especially as we get older. Getting into a regular, consistent exercise routine means you’ll be burning more calories than you’re used to and that can leave you feeling hungry! That’s normal since you’ll be disrupting your body’s major goal: To maintain homeostasis. The body HATES change so you'll have to outsmart it. Here are some things to remember:
  • If you’re hoping to lose wight, you will need to feel hungry. Hunger is not an emergency, it’s a sensation (just like having to pee is very rarely an emergency). In fact, if you’re starting to exercise consistently and your goal is weight loss, feeling hungrier than usual is a GREAT sign! It means you’re in a calorie deficit which is what you need to lose weight! So while your body is telling you to find food to stop the hunger, allow yourself to feel hungry for 30-60 minutes before meals. I'm oversimplifying this a bit but hopefully you get the gist :) 
  • If your goal is weight and muscle gain, focus on increasing your whole food intake (specifically lean proteins since they are the building blocks of muscles!). Just because you want to make gainz does not mean you'll want to do it by eating as much candy as you can.​

• It’s OK to say, “I hate this.” I was never an exerciser growing up and certainly never thought I’d fall in love with lifting weights. Sports were so not me so my physical activity was dancing (tap was my favorite!). A lot of my clients are in this boat, too, and I often hear, “I HATE exercise,” when I first meet them. You know what? That’s totally OK! Kudos to you for showing up to even try this thing you hate! I’d ask for an open mind, though. Might your disdain for exercise stem from a bad past experience? Could there be a chance to start liking the process if you were around the right people? Are there ways you LIKE moving your body? There are more and more forms of exercise out there that I KNOW it’s just a matter of staying patient and open to new things and you'll find your "thing".
• Be realistic with your timeline. I asked my client Allison what she wishes she'd known when she started working out. She shared, "Mostly, I wish I'd had more realistic expectations about the amount of time and effort I'd need to put in to see real results. I figured, welp, going from no exercise to some exercise should make a difference right away! Lol. Similarly, I wish I'd realized how important the accompanying dietary changes would be to my progress--I figured I wasn't eating that poorly to begin with so I didn't even address it for a while." Everyone has their own timeline. Once she found a dietary change that worked for her and she increased her exercise, she was able to speed up her weight loss and drop the weight she'd been looking to lose. I think she would have reached her initial goal eventually, though it would have taken longer. The beautiful thing is that now she's got the skills to know how changes happen which means she'll be able to take those skills with her for life! (And, if you read that piece about what you're willing to do to reach your goals, here's an update: Allison did lose those 5lbs she wanted to lose for vacation.)

I get so excited when people want to exercise or eat healthier and get so bummed when the novelty wears off. This is a lifestyle change and, just like it takes time to settle into a new city or a new relationship or a new job, it takes time to settle into a new lifestyle. So carry on and take your steps! And please contact me if you need anything!

Ah, summer: Prime time for chips and guac and margaritas at rooftop bars; rosé poolside almost literally all day; barbecued burgers and brats and buttered-up corn on the cob. We're outside! We're socializing! We're making almost any excuse to spend time outside with friends or go out of town and a lot of the time this can revolve around food, drink and more food.

So what if you don't want to GAIN weight this summer but still want to have fun? This is NOT a post about what to eliminate during this glorious season. It's not about deprivation or missing out or letting the YOLO monster come out and play. Enjoying the summer treat bounty every once in a while will not derail your health status! You can easily end up feeling wrecked by the time fall comes around, though, when "every once in a while" becomes a daily to multiple-times-a-day practice and self-awareness is nowhere to be found.

In the spirit of a fun-filled summer that won't leave you angry, here are my top four summer nutrition skills to practice, whether you want to maintain or you still want to lose weight this season.
​

• Track snacks and drinks. Why? Because tracking snacks and drinks gives you the opportunity to pause and make sure you really want the them. Like I said, this isn't about deprivation. And it's not about shame, either; there shouldn’t be ANY judgement associated with this tracking practice. It’s just a way to stay aware. Because, come on. It’s easy to forget you’re on glass number four of that rosé by the pool.
  • HOW TO: You can do this any number of ways but the one that fits YOUR needs will be the best one. Do you use your phone's Notes app a lot? Or are you more of a pen and paper person? Do you only want to track snacks in the evening? Or all of the snacks and drinks all day and night? It's really up to you and how you'll best set yourself up for success.
• Pre-determine meal portions. Why? Because we tend to eat what’s in front of us. Think about the BBQs you might attend in the summer. If they're anything like the ones I've gone to, tables are lined with all of those BBQ items I mentioned above, along with tasty dips and chips, and cheese and crackers, cookies and brownies and... You get the idea. If they're right in front of you, you'll likely go to town, right? It's often an invitation to graze and overfill the plate. But what if you had a game plan ahead of time? Choosing how much of what ends up in front of us will be consumed helps us eat to contentment rather than eating to the point of feeling really full and gross.
  • HOW TO: You can do a few things here. You can decide ahead of time that you will share a full portion of something with a friend. You can decide that you'll go up to the spread a certain number of times the whole time you're there (for example, make an appetizer plate, a main course plate and a dessert plate and stay away from the grazing). If you're headed to a restaurant, you can choose to eat half of your plate and then pack up the rest. There's no wrong way to do this as long as you're making active choices.
• Drink more water. Why? Because it’s hot out! The more you sweat the more you should drink water. Drinking more water can also keep us from feeling hungry (when we're actually just thirsty) and can stave off the craving for calorie-containing beverages or snacks!
  • HOW TO: Increasing water intake can take trial and error but above all, increase your intake by a reasonable amount day by day. In other words, don't go from drinking one 8-oz cup of water to all eight immediately or you'll be spending a LOT more time in the loo. Beyond that, make sure you carry a water bottle with you wherever you go (these are great for travel since they get smaller and smaller as you drink) or keep a tall glass at your desk. I personally know I drink way more with a straw so I fill up a mason jar and sip sip sip until it's gone! (Then I refill.) Again (and I hope you're seeing a trend by now), there's no wrong way to do this as long as it works for YOU.
• Choose the best option in front of you. Why? Because summer brings with it vacations and BBQs, places we often think we have no “best” option at all. The practice of making active choices, though, means we take responsibility for our actions. In fact, clients have reported enjoying their choice of the "best" food more than if they'd consumed it thinking they had no good options to begin with. So whether you're left with the decision to eat either a brat or a burger, choose which one you feel is best for you at that particular time and savor it!
  • HOW TO: I pretty much summed it up above. Remember: We're not running out of food here. You WILL have a chance to eat another brat one day if you chose the burger this time. The choice doesn't always have to be what we think is the "healthiest". Sometimes "best" doesn't mean "healthiest" and that is OK! YOU'RE in charge, you're the one making the decision. That's got to feel pretty powerful, right?

At the end of the day, you want to be able to look back at a summer when memories were made, the company of friends and family was enjoyed and let the food and drinks take a back seat. I hope these nutrition skills and habits can make it easier to enjoy this season as wholeheartedly as you can.

Cheers to y'all!

If you have any questions or comments or are looking for nutrition coaching, please leave them in the comments section below or reach me directly at izzy@izzyfit.com!

I was having a conversation with a client last week about her weight loss goal. This client -- let's call her Amy --  has lost 20 pounds over this last year and wants to lose those "last five pounds" in a month, just in time for a beach vacation. 

First, I'd like to point out: Amy has CLEARLY demonstrated that she can put in the work, both with exercise and nutrition, to lose weight safely and I have no doubt she can reach her goal. Girl's got skills! So why not say, "More power to you, let's do this!"?

Here's Thing One: Like me, Amy enjoys yummy food and an occasional cocktail and summer in Chicago is full of those.

Here's Thing Two: Like I said, it's summer. We're out of hibernation, being more social and therefore presented with more opportunities to accept (or decline) the offer of the aforementioned food and cocktails. And after this LONG winter we had, I personally don't want to limit my frolicking time being out and about.

Here is Thing Three (and the most important): I want Amy to set herself up for success. Success being getting to her goal feeling happy and whole, NOT feeling deprived and frustrated. You know what happens when people's diet/lifestyle regimen leave them feeling deprived and frustrated? Weight gain boomerang/depression/feeling isolated and miserable. WHO WANTS THAT?

So my first question to her was: What are you willing to do to lose just over one pound a week for the next month? 

As Gary John Bishop explains in his book, Unf*k Yourself (I highly recommend the audiobook), we often lament about what we don't have, who we aren't. One example he uses is "Why aren't I rich?" His answer, posed as a series of questions, went something like this:
"Are you willing to put in the work it takes to make it to become the next [insert name of a millionaire here]?"
"Are you willing to miss major holidays with loved ones to make the extra money?"
"Are you willing to put the most important relationships in your life aside to put work first?"
"Are you willing to never have a vacation without emails and phone calls for an extended period of your life?"

Obviously for some people the answer to those questions is "yes" and that's awesome! Just as awesome as it is for people to say "no" because then it is an active and informed choice. 

When it comes to fitness and aesthetic goals, we are very good at stating what we want and lamenting what we aren't. We want to lose the last five pounds; we want six-pack abs; we want to run a marathon. 

What we're not so great at is asking ourselves what we're willing to do to reach those goals.

Here are some questions I asked Amy regarding her goal of losing five pounds in a month:
"Are you willing to cut back on portion sizes during all of your meals?"
"Are you willing to feel hungry for 30-60 minutes before each meal?"
"Are you willing to cut out all snacks out for the next 4 weeks?"
"Are you willing to keep alcohol consumption to maybe 1 drink per week or 1 dessert per week?"
"Are you willing to put in 4-5 workouts per week, 2 with me and 2-3 on your own?"
Like I said before, this girl's got skills. I know she CAN do all of the above. But is she WILLING.

I don't know what her decision is yet and that's frankly neither here nor there as far as this story is concerned. The point is, we often set goals for ourselves that make us feel like losers when we don't reach them. And that's sad because it doesn't have to be that way.

I want to leave you with four ways to set a goal and reach it:
1. Write down your goal and by when you'd like to reach it.
2. Break the goal down into multiple actionable steps (ex. to lose 1 lb per week I need to cut out/burn 3500 calories; to do that I will need to do x, y, z and a, b, c).
3. Put the steps into a timeline.
4. Assess your timeline and actionable steps. Can you execute your plan while still feeling happy and whole? Yes? Great! No? Can you make the goal more realistic? (ex. lose the last 5 pounds in 2 months or lose 3 pounds in one month) Can you make the actionable steps more appealing and doable? (ex. I can happily limit my summer rosé intake to 3 glasses per week rather than 1 glass per week) 

Friends: Rethinking your goals and what you're willing to do to reach them (also known as taking a good, hard look at your values) does NOT make you a failure. It makes you a rockstar who might be finally freed of the shoulds and coulds and the why-am-I-nots. 

(Usually) we don't reach our goals because we don't do all that we should have done to get there in the timeline we gave ourselves.

(Usually) that happens because we don't know how to break down the goal and make a plan and timeline.

And we don't know what we don't know until we know it! So take the steps above and run with them! Set yourself up for the win! Be the rockstar you are ON YOUR TERMS.

​Or, as Gary John Bishop bluntly says, unf*k yourself. ​

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Want to chat about how IzzyFit can help? Shoot me an email at izzy@izzyfit.com or call 312-497-8999!