Protein sources

Currently in my fridge:

• Whole Foods 365 Wild Skipjack Tuna

• Trader Joe’s Rainbow Trout

• Trader Joe’s Organic Ground Turkey

• Trader Joe’s Spicy Jalapeno Chicken Sausage

• Whole Foods Grass-Fed Ground Beef

Also in the mix:

• Trader Joe’s Organic Natural Chicken Thighs

• Trader Joe’s Cooked Lentils

• Trader Joe’s Nova Smoked Salmon

• Trader Joe’s Canned Chickpeas

Experiment

If you’re stuck and not sure what to do next, experiment!

Don’t put pressure on yourself to find the right way immediately. Simply commit to the process of learning. :)

Genetics and age matter, but…

…you have so much within your control before reaching those limitations.

Epigenetic expression is how your choices—environment, habits, stress, nutrition, sleep, etc.—switch certain genes “on” or “off.”

Blaming genetics can be tempting as the easy way out—owning the rest means taking responsibility but also puts the power back in your hands.

Don’t skip meals

When you under-eat for too long, your body responds by conserving energy—slowing down your metabolism, increasing fatigue to reduce movement, and holding onto fat stores for safety.

Eating enough signals that it’s safe to use energy, rather than storing it as fat.

Many of the people I’ve worked with who struggle with fat loss are actually eating too little / not consistently getting enough to eat.

It sounds counterintuitive to eat more to lose weight, but it’s a common reason people struggle with it.

Eat protein at every meal

Eating a palm-sizing serving of protein at each meal is a great way to help with fat loss, body composition, and overall health.

It helps you full longer, stabilizes blood sugar and mood, and supports muscle repair.

It’s also essential for maintaining healthy hormone production—especially for women, who often under-eat it relative to what their metabolism and hormones need.

When protein is consistently low, it can show up as: irregular hunger, low energy, hair shedding, dull skin, mood swings, weaker workouts, slower recovery, and stubborn body-composition changes that don’t match the effort you’re putting in.

Lifting weights supports a healthy metabolism

Because muscle burns calories even at rest, having muscle helps your metabolism stay strong, which makes staying lean easier.

How to optimize for fat loss / body composition

Focus on eating protein and healthy fats, which are digested more slowly and help you feel full for longer.

Sugar and high-glycemic carbs are more quickly digested, and can make you feel hungry again more quickly. We also tend to more easily overeat carbs than protein and healthy fats.

Eat less sugar by getting good sleep

Sleep deprivation makes it more likely for your body to reach for fast energy foods (i.e. carbs) to compensate for low energy.

Lack of sleep also causes your body to create more ghrelin (hunger hormone) and less leptin (fullness), messing with your hunger cues.

Move after meals, especially after carbs/sugar

Movement helps your muscles use up some of that sugar for energy, so it’s not floating around your bloodstream. This helps keep your blood sugar more stable and make it easier for your body to respond to insulin.

After a meal, go for a walk, dance, or do some squats!

If you eat more carbs than you need for your current activities, your body turns them into fat to store for later (an intelligent survival mechanism).

Balance & moderation is the key

Crash diets don’t work because you can’t eat that way for the rest of your life. The goal is “the middle way”, where your favorite foods are still part of your routine.

Freedom is being able to make healthy choices out of awareness of energy balance and what works best for you, rather than blindly following restrictive rules forever.

When you understand how different foods affect your body and support your needs, you can make intentional choices that move you toward your health and physique goals.

If you’re struggling to find balance, let’s talk!