Let me be honest: Every time Anthony Bourdain would make fun of vegetarians, I would chuckle a little. When you study exercise and nutrition, it’s sort of branded into your brain that if you want to lean out and build muscle, you want to eat .8-1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Of course these numbers vary depending on how much you want to weight and your body type and blah blah blah. So I’d think, “Ok, vegetarians. Good luck building muscle without eating MEAT.”

Archaic and wrong. I know. And trust me when I say that I no longer think this but I DO want to recognize that it can take a little bit more planning to get adequate protein if you’re eating a mostly plant-based diet.

Now, since one of my really active clients does eat a plant-based diet*, I thought it would be fun to gather up info about non-meat sources of food that are high in protein!

Here's a list of non-meat foods I find yummy and versatile that are also high in protein**:
Edamame: 22g/cup
Hemp seeds: 6g/oz
Lentils: 18g/cup
Greek yogurt: 24g/cup
Green peas: 8g/cup
Quinoa: 8g/cooked cup
Artichoke hearts: 4g/cup
Spinach: 5g/cooked cup
Kamut: 11g/cooked cup
Mushrooms: 3g/cup white and shiitakes, 4g/cup portabella
Tempeh: 16g/3 oz
Black beans: 8g/.5 cup
Chia seeds: 6g/2 tbsp
Steel cut oats: 5g/.5 cup cooked
Brussels sprouts: 4g/cup
Broccoli: 4g/cup steamed
Sweet potato: 4g/cup
Asparagus: 4g/cup cooked
Tofu (extra firm): 9g/3oz
Plant-based protein powder like Vega Sport: 30g/scoop

Here are a few things to consider if you are consuming a plant-based diet and are focusing on protein:

• Non-meat sources of protein (except for eggs and soy products like edamame) are thought of as “incomplete” proteins because they lack all of the amino acids that complete proteins have. What this means is that it is important to have a very widely-varied food list. You know the phrase “eat the rainbow”? Do that! Eat all of the different colors of veggies, legumes and grains.
• If you are really focusing on building lean muscle mass, consider supplementing with a protein shake here and there. Shakes can pack in about 30g of protein in a serving. Here's a hot tip, though: If you do eat eggs and/or dairy, I HIGHLY recommend using a whey or egg white-based powder and here is why.

So now let’s pretend you are a woman looking to lose fat and build muscle and are trying to eat roughly 1500 calories per day. I would want this client’s food be comprised of 30% protein. In this case it turns out to be roughly 120 grams of protein per day.

Here’s how we’d make that work:
NOTE: As a nutrition coach in Illinois I CANNOT prescribe a meal plan. I can simply help you put something together WITH you or make suggestions. I just thought it would be helpful to see what one day might look like. So here it is!

Breakfast:
1 cup Greek yogurt (with the lowest sugar content you can find!) with 1 Tbsp chia seeds and a 1/2 cup of blackberries mixed in. One of my favorite former clients Kelly loved putting in frozen berries for texture so that’s what I’ve plugged in.

Lunch:
Salade Composée (that’s French for a salad that is hearty enough for a full meal): A fine mix of greens, roasted and steamed veggies with a Green Goddess dressing, topped with crunchy pumpkin seeds. I don't write restaurant menus so use your imagination for more flavor-packed adjectives ;)

Dinner:
The yummiest recipe I’ve made in a long time, pictured above: Curried Lentils with Kale and Coconut Milk. Check out the recipe here. The serving size I used is 1/4 of the recipe plus 3 oz cubed tofu mixed in. You could ALSO cut a 3-oz portion of extra firm tofu, season it with spices, lightly brush with oil and grill it, eat it on the side.

If you know me, you know I do not usually like to plug in my food into a calorie calculator. But, for the purposes of this post, I thought I would to use as an illustration. Here is the outcome:

As you can see, this day turned out to be just over 1500 calories, 124 grams of protein (remember our goal was 120) AND a whopping 42 grams of fiber to boot! That's a lot of fiber, guys. I'd make sure to drink plenty of water if I were you.

Whether you're a vegetarian or like to only eat meat occasionally, know that getting adequate protein from mostly plant form is absolutely doable! It just takes some planning (and possibly a B12 supplement; check with your doctor).

If you're someone who feels like they could use some help with some of their habits and skills surrounding their own diet, give me a shout! You can reach me via email, sign up for CleanSlate28 or call 312-497-8999. If you need a little extra help requiring a registered dietician, I can also help connect you!

If you are a vegetarian (or even a flexetarian or pescatarian or vegan) and have your own tactics for how to get protein in, share them in the comments below! I'd love to hear from you!

But if you’re living your regular day-to-day, your snacks should serve a purpose: To fuel you when you've been hungry for a little while until you get to your next meal.

​Snacks aren't supposed to exist to ease stress or to make you feel happier when you’re sad and that is an entire other subject (presented by the amazing Josh Hillis; click here). The snacks below should absolutely be enjoyed because they will give your nutrients, vitamins and minerals, will taste good and will help you not grab all of the food in sight at home because you were SO HUNGRY.

​Alright, so why do I like these to-go snacks? I like them because they all have a combination of protein, fiber and a little fat which means they have the goods to be satiating and filling. And, given that a lot of my clients run around a lot, these snacks had to be able to be grabbed out of the fridge (and some can even be eaten in the car). 
​
Without further ado, I present you with my seven favorite on-the-go snacks!
​

Turkey roll with hummus and sliced peppers
Of course turkey gives you a good dose of lean protein but the hummus also gives you a little bit of vitamin A, K as well as minerals like potassium and magnesium thanks to the chickpeas. Sliced pepper will add a nice crunch and some vitamin C. Just lay out a few slices of deli turkey, spread on some hummus and add in pepper slices. Season with a little cayenne if you like heat.  You can totally make this in advance for the week!

Chia pudding with berries
Two tablespoons of chia seeds give you almost 5g of protein, 5g of omega 3s, and a whopping 10g of fiber! Berries add a good kick of fiber, too, as well as vitamins C, A, K, potassium, folate and calcium. You may want to prep these in advance, too, and keep them in the fridge for the week (or just make it the night before). Fill a small jar with 2 Tbsp of chia seeds, a pinch of cinnamon and a dash of honey (to taste). Next, add 3/4 cup of the milk of your choice (I recommend flax or oat milk because they have a thicker consistency). Close the lid and shake it like a cocktail shaker. Add in your berries (I normally use frozen ones) and stick in the fridge!

Monkey balls!
I posted my recipe for these so long ago but now they're all over Pinterest. They're definitely grab-and-go and if you make a BUNCH, go ahead and stick some in the freezer for the future! Note: I was on an elimination diet when I posted the recipe for these so you can be a little looser about your protein powder blend and sweetener of choice but the proportions for the recipe are the same. You just get a good dose of protein if that's a tough macro for you to get enough of (like, if you're vegan or vegetarian). The combo of protein and fat (from the coconut flakes) help even out the carbs from the banana and oats so you don't get a carb crash. Again, for the recipe, click here!

Edamame
We order edamame at Japanese restaurants every time we go but can't seem to remember that Trader Joe's sells them in the freezer section! In just one cup of edamame in the shell, you get 4g of fiber and 10g of protein! Plus, they're incredibly easy to season to your taste: from salt flakes to old bay, truffle salt to tajiín, soy sauce to that amazing Japanese chili pepper blend shichimi togarachi... The possible flavor profiles are endless ;) Simply put that cup and your chosen seasoning in a container and take it with you!

Quest Bars
These next few snacks fall into the category of yummy and best when you're out of town or truly have no time to prep at all. Quest Bars tout having around 20g of (whey) protein, 17g of fiber and very low in carbs (they use sugar alcohols to sweeten instead of sugar so although it brings down the carb count significantly, not everyone can stomach sugar alcohols; just be aware of that). I personally think the only flavors worth checking out are cookies and cream and chocolate chip cookie dough. Keep your intake of these to one per day; that fiber count in a sitting can be no joke if you're not used to getting that much in one go.

Siggi's Yogurt
There are a lot of cool yogurts out there and Siggi's is one of my favorites. They do a great job making a yummy yogurt with relatively less sugar compared to most other brands. That said, their Icelandic-style yogurts have around 15g of protein in them! I'd recommend 2% milkfat for it to be more satiating (although the 0% ones are good, too!).

P3: Portable Protein Packs
I discovered P3 snacks on a road trip at a KwikTrip (shout out to my FAVORITE gas station shopping experience in Wisconsin!). Let's face it: When road tripping, it can feel like a treat to get snacks like chocolate or Doritos (I'm not alone here, right?). But when road trips are not a once-in-a-great-while occasion, finding a quality snack when you still have hours to go before your next meal can be challenging. I found these P3 snacks one day and they've been my go-tos. Now, I'm not saying these are healthier than those turkey hummus rollups above (they're not). But when faced with making the best choice for you in the moment, P3 might be it! They each have a meat (ham or turkey or chicken, etc) as well as a small handful of nuts like cashews or almonds and a little cheese. There are now other combinations but they're relatively well-balanced and at least have the fat and protein content to help keep you full.

I hope these snacks give you some fuel to keep in your back pocket or get your creativity going with other options! Which leads me to this question: What healthy, well-rounded snacks are YOUR favorites! Comment below!

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!