Have you ever felt as though attempting to live a healthy lifestyle required as much work as a second job? Between the meal prep, the hours of exercise, waking up early, counting calories, getting 7 hours of sleep, it can be exhausting!

We, simply by human nature, are creatures of habit. Everything from how we style our hair to the meal we cook when we forgot to plan dinner, is done out of routine. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, habits are defined as “A settled tendency, or usual manner or behavior; an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary.” (1) You know which word sticks out to me most in that definition? Involuntary. The fact that our habits are actions we just DO, not actions we have to think about doing.

An easy way to simplify your health and fitness journey and cultivate a fat loss lifestyle is to create HABITS that align with the final goal you’re striving to reach.

No matter the goal, here...

Early risers, weekend warriors, after- work late night gym closers. With busy schedules and jam-packed weekends often the most challenging piece of the puzzle is finding time to workout.

For some individuals, they love to wake up and move their body, for others that 5 am alarm clock is the last thing they want to hear. So when is the best time to workout? The truth is, whatever fits your schedule best. At whatever time you can consistently move your body each day; just with anything, though, each time has its pros and cons. So let’s break this down.

Morning Workouts:

Great for the early bird and often a time that is most easily attainable for consistency as long as you can wake up for your alarm. Hitting the gym in the morning hours can feel amazing for breaking a sweat not to mention short intense workouts help illicit EPOC (Excess Post- Exercise Oxygen Consumption) helping you burn more calories for the rest of the day! Some cons of the early bird workouts, however,...

Has your diet stopped working for you? I hear it all the time, I was doing this 90-day program or following that 21-day diet but now, months later, the scale won’t budge!

 You’ve cut out every unnecessary component, the milk in your coffee, the bread on your sandwich, the glass of wine on Friday nights, and you haven’t thought of a treat in months. You’re basically eating chicken and broccoli for every meal, right?

 OY!! I have been there too, if the almond milk was sweetened I would debate avoiding it for the “Extra sugars,” you know what I mean?

 Here is something you need to remember, weight loss and fat loss are two ENTIRELY different beasts. So, eating less and less, and cranking up your cardio doesn’t ultimately mean success.

3 reason why this could be happening...

  1. The diet is focused on weight loss.

Maybe you’ve had amazing success following your diet plan, lost a great amount of...

Maybe you were a competitive athlete in high school, but haven't trained in a few years. Maybe you have been doing home exercise programs for a while and need to  switch up your routine.

Regardless,  hitting the gym can be intimidating to say the least.

I didn't see the inside of a gym until my freshman year of college, and even still I stuck to the group fitness room and the back row of treadmills. The goal was to just get in and out and avoid public humiliation. If someone asked me, “Would you ever be a personal trainer, fitness instructor, or have no problem walking into the gym and making a fool of yourself.” I would have said, “NO WAY!”

Over the years, though, I have picked up a trick or two when maneuver the gym scene and have built up the confidence to go alone. Today, I want to share FOUR of the biggest strategies that helped me overcome the intimidation factor and get comfortable in the weight room.

1.  Go at an OFF Hour.

If...