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. :)

Food affects mental health

Food can be medicine—or it can be what’s causing physical and even mental health issues.

Regularly eating highly-processed foods that cause stress and inflammation in your body can lead to disease over time.

The gut is also known as your “second brain” for a reason: because the gut and brain constantly communicate through nerves, hormones, and the immune system, your gut microbiome can directly affect mood, focus, and overall brain function.

I’ve worked with clients who have overcome rheumatoid arthritis, eczema, acne, bloating/gut inflammation, clinical depression, and daily panic attacks—simply by changing what they eat.

Limiting processed foods and understanding your food sensitivities can not only change the way you look but also the way you feel.

Be mindful of sugar

Why:

• Sugar can reduce sensitivity to signals that tell you you’re full, making you eat more overall

• The liver processes excess sugar into fat, which can contribute to fatty liver over time

• Spikes and dips in blood sugar can affect energy levels, focus, mental clarity, and mood

• Frequently eating sugar can trigger reward pathways in the brain, making it habit-forming

If you’re trying to reduce your sugar intake, start by replacing highly processed options with minimally processed versions like fruit, dark chocolate, yogurt. Don’t worry about limiting portion sizes at first. These foods can satisfy cravings with fewer calories and less inflammation.

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.

Get your electrolytes

There have been a couple of times—doing CrossFit in the middle of summer in Texas, and doing hot yoga several times a week in New York—where I’ve experienced being electrolyte-deficient.

It shows up as extreme fatigue, brain fog, headaches, cravings, and a “wired but tired” feeling.

Especially if you’re active and in hot climates, be sure to get some high-quality salts (sea salt, Himalayan), mineral-rich foods (leafy greens, beans, nuts), and/or low-sugar electrolyte drinks. I get the Liquid I.V. electrolyte packets.

Get vitamin D

Vitamin D is a hormone precursor, meaning your body needs it to make hormones that regulate energy, mood, immunity, and metabolism.

Being low can leave you tired, moody, more prone to illness, and make fat loss harder.

Get regular sun exposure, eating vitamin-D–rich foods (like eggs, salmon, and mushrooms), and/or take a supplement.

Eat balanced meals (protein, fat, and carbs)

Eating sugar and high-glycemic carbs alone can cause a spike-and-crash and mood dips.

Protein and fats are more slowly digested than carbs, so eating them as part of a balanced meal keeps you full longer and your blood sugar steadier.

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.

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!

Go for organic if you eat the skin of the fruit/veggie

Pesticides often stay on or just under the skin, even after washing. Go for organic when you can.