Kylene, what do you eat to stay healthy and fit?

Hi friends! I get a variation of this question a lot - whether it’s specifically in regards to MY eating, or women wanting to know what healthy eating means in general for THEM….

Maybe YOU have tried 20 different diets, you’re gaining weight, your’e tired, your’e frustrated and you simply can’t seem to move the needle. (Check out my recent post on the fad of “plant based” eating HERE.

I get it! Many of my clients begin this way as well and I’ll give the same answer I give to everyone. #YOUtrition. You can learn exactly what I mean in my podcast episode HERE or my previous blogpost HERE.

While I believe in a unique approach to each individual, here are the overarching guidelines that work for EVERYONE…

Healthy Eating Guidelines That work for Everyone

1) Avoid processed foods.

This includes anything with refined sugars, corn syrup, food coloring, or unnatural ingredients. You can simply ask - was it made by God, or made by a factory? If a factory, skip it. (I do still utilize packaged foods but I choose brands that use high quality ingredients. You can ask the question when reading the ingredient label - could I make this at home if I had the time or inclination? If so it may be an ok product. If it’s packed with words you don’t recognize - skip.)

2) Go gluten free 100%.

It doesn’t matter who you are, what your life history is, or what symptoms you are experiencing, for my clients and myself, this is a non-negotiable. You can learn more about WHY in this Youtube video HERE .

3) Go organic.

Unless a certain type of produce is a “safe” crop known not to be sprayed with pesticides and herbicides, or it has a thick skin that you do not eat, go 100% organic. Pesticides are linked to liver toxicity (which can lead to a whole host of disease but can also show up in weight gain and fatigue), cancer, hormone disruption and more….

You may even be doing your best to eat a “heart healthy” diet by starting the day off with a granola bar or oat based cereal like cheerios….but last year the environmental working group found that ONE serving of these cereals (and who measures just one serving?) goes above the “safe” limit of glyphosate for children. And I would argue there IS not safe exposure.

Microscopic particles have been shown to kill beneficial gut flora. Pesticides kill things. It also kills things in your GUT.

4) Dig deeper and get testing.

This includes food sensitivity testing, gut testing and possibly more. Simply addressing these sources of inflammation and lead to unexpected and EASY weight loss.

I personally live a life where probably 80% of the food I eat is purchased by me and made in my home. The other 20% is conscientiously choosing when out to eat without compromising core values (like being gluten free etc….).

Exercise doesn’t have much to do with it

You may be surprised to learn that as a former personal trainer, exercise is not a component of the plans I create for my clients. Now to be clear, I always encourage movement, walking, and if the client is healthy enough, exercise,. But I never lay out a fitness plan and in most cases I’m actually asking them to calm it down a bit to allow for healing.

And guess what - these clients STILL lose weight.

I’ve had clients drop 10 pounds without effort simply by following their food sensitivity test report.

I’ve had other clients from 10 pounds simply by going gluten free. Before they even GET a test result.

I personally choose to lift HEAVY, but I ONLY work out twice a week. I’m seeing amazing results. So while it would be tempting to double this amount, I listen to my body and even on weeks where we have tried 3 sessions, it doesn’t seem to give my body enough recovery time and I simply don’t feel as strong. This way I have lots of recovery time and I can not only CRUSH it every time, but I can regularly increase my weights.

Dig Deeper

If you do some of the basics and feel like you have “tried everything” but still can’t see results, that’s where a coach like me can come in and help you dig deeper!

Food sensitivity testing is certainly one of the most popular tests I run. However, I choose to run my business in a way where I never offer one test alone because I want my clients to leave with RESULTS. So while yes, many can simply follow a food sensitivity test and see some benefit, OFTEN where there are food sensitivities, there are also other imbalances in the gut so I like to pair it wit ha comprehensive stool test.

This allows me to see how we can REALLY make progress by healing the gut, removing stressors (stressors can be parasites, bacteria, food sensitivities etc….) and adding in needs ( things like minerals or vitamins your body needs).

Think Liver

Where there is weight gain and/or weight loss resistance, there is probably some liver stress, or what you might think of as a sluggish liver. Our bodies are bombarded by stressors daily and our liver does a phenomenal job but it needs two things:

1) A whole host of nutrients to function optimally

2) A break from toxins or else it can get bogged down

So for example, if you are eating a food daily that your body is sensitive too, and wearing perfume that is full of chemicals, experience a lot of mental emotional stress, and have some hormone imbalances, then your liver has a high work load!

Everything we are exposed to must go through the liver to be broken down and made non-toxic. This requires an enormous amount of energy and nutrition. In fact, your liver STORES extra nutrients for a rainy day. But if we aren’t eating a healthy diet, and instead we eat a nutrient POOR and inflammatory diet, in addition to living in the modern world, then we are setting our liver up for failure. Literally.

Fatty liver is something that is difficult to diagnose unless you actually get some imaging done for another reason. Bloodwork alone doesn't necessarily tell you that a fatty liver is developing.

If you experience fatigue regularly, weight loss resistance, pain in your right side, digestive issues, etc… your liver may need some support!

Are YOU ready to invest in YOUR health??

Interested in learning if working together one on one is the right fit for YOU? You can schedule a free functional health assessment call at the link below. This call allows me to understand your goals, your vision for health, what you have tried and determine if I am the right fit to help achieve those goals! If not, no worries, I’ll do my best to point you in the right direction by the end of the call!

Massaged Kale with Fennel Salad

This salad is delightfully nourishing and gives you all the benefits of kale, without the digestive distress. When you massage kale you break down some of the tough fibers in the cell wall that make raw kale hard to digest. 

If you normally have trouble digesting kale the solution is to either steam your kale or massage it. This recipe is one of my clients favorites! You still get all the amazing benefits of raw kale: the enzymes, magnesium, vitamin C and more. 

Massaging nourishing oil and lemon juice into the kale also help make the nutrients more bioavailable and easier to assimilate. Plus, it tastes delicious and can be paired with grilled chicken or fish for a classic healthy meal. 

Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale, chopped

• 1 large lemon, juiced

• 1 large garlic clove, minced

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

• Sea salt and black pepper to taste

• 1 cup shredded carrots

• 1 cup chopped celery

• ½ cup thinly sliced fennel (optional if you don’t like the taste of licorice)

• ¼ cup pine nuts
  
  

Directions

1. Add kale to a large mixing bowl along with lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Using clean, bare hands, massage the kale until it is wilted (about 2 to 3 minutes).

2. Once the kale is ready, top your salad with carrots, celery, fennel, and pine nuts. No extra dressing is needed.

If kale is something that’s hard to digest for you, there might be a deeper issue that needs to be addressed. If you want to be able to eat whatever you want and have no digestive issues, you need to check out my gut health program. These principles have truly transformed my life as well as countless others. 

Check out my new 6 week program Stop Dieting and Live Your L.I.F.E - Discover your #YOUtrition launching February 11! Or join me for one of my upcoming webinars where you will learn more about your #YOUtrition and have the chance to ask me any questions!!

When things aren't perfect...hacking your digestion and PMS bonus tips!

Hey Hey Diva friends!

Recently I've been sharing my free guide: 5 steps to crushing your PMS where I share my biggest lifestyle tips on how to reduce inflammation, support your hormones, and get your cycle back on track. These are simple, but big steps  and ones that may take some time to implement....

So....what happens if you're say...on vacation like I was when my last period started and things are NOT to perfect? You're drinking coffee, enjoying some sweet treats....etc....

Here are some extra bonus hacks to go along with the guide to dig a little deeper and give your body that extra support!

4 bonus tips to crush your PMS

1) Take extra nutrients.

During our vacation I KNEW I would be splurging so I planned ahead and purchased some Bulletproof Unfair Advantage

This little liquid supplement is good for your brain, cells and mitochondrial health. I took 2-3 a day while on vacation!!!

You may also want to increase your magnesium intake as stress (travel) can deplete it (most of us are already deficient!). I like Dr. Mercola L Threonate as it's one form of magnesium that has been shown to cross the blood brain barrier. Magnesium is important in over 700+ enzymatic functions in the body including recovery, muscle soreness, energy, and quality sleep!

2) Get on top of inflammation.

I knew my period was coming, even though I thought it would come once I got HOME....so I wanted to make sure I stayed on top of any inflammation that may occur from less than stellar nutrition choices that week. I made sure to take 1-2 fish oil supplements at each meal in addition to eating lots and lots of REAL fish that was easily available at the resort!

We (American's) are often too high in omega 6 fatty acids. This is often due to poor diet and exposure to processed oils like soy, peanut, and canola in our processed foods and not enough omega 3s which are anti inflammatory. One 3s are found in fish, walnuts, and seeds like chia and flax. Recommendations vary but an acceptable ratio is 4:1 omega 6 to omega 3 and most in America are more like 26:1. Ideally in a perfect world you could get 1:1.

I also took some ALEVE. Not much, but I have had SUCH pain in the past it made me nervous if I felt anything at all and I wanted to stay on top of it. NSAIDS can really wreak havoc on your stomach lining and gut in general. Often regular use of NSAIDS for pain, sinus infections etc... are a precursor for leaky gut and inflammation in the first place. So we want to avoid them as much as possible. They can however provide a valuable service on occasion when used in the appropriate way.

I do try to balance my NSAID use with a scoop of Innate - GI RESPONSE which is loaded with gut soothing and healing ingredients. This allows me to rest easy and I would recommend taking a scoop along with the NSAID.

**I would also not recommend you continue taking ALEVE every 2-3 hours or anything like that...take as minimal a dose as you can to feel comfortable and move on.

3) Digestive enzymes.

I take these anyways but if you don't you might want to on vacation. I ADD one on vacation called GlutenEase in case of cross contamination. The nice thing about this particular supplement however is that it also helps you break down casein so if I am choosing to eat extra dairy for example, I'll still take one. 

Enzymes are just an extra boost to help your break down and process your food efficiently. The LAST thing you want on vacation is to get constipated or bloated - yuck!

4) DETOX.

Let's face it - NO ONE is perfect on vacation. You may want to include some gentle detox a few times that week. Activated charcoal is a great natural binder. It swoops in and grabs things like heavy metals, toxins, and things that may cause you discomfort, bloating or gas. It binds to those buggers and sweeps them out with your poo. :) 

Let's just stop for a moment and clarify that I am NOT recommending you take these additional steps as an EXCUSE to binge and party for a week. We still ate incredibly healthy while on vacation - got lots of vitamin D, even worked out several times that week. But out of our normal routine we also included lots of treats, we relaxed, didn't stress and enjoyed our time and food.

Stress can play a MAJOR factor in how you feel, how you digest, and how your body handles your next cycle. I am happy to report than when my period came it was non-eventful. No pain, issues - just hello I'm here, have a nice day.

To ME that is progress. To ME who used to WRITH on the floor in pain, that is a miracle.  So a few dietary tweaks, a few changes here and there, thinking ahead for vacation...TOTALLY WORTH IT.

Think you can't have a perfect period? Think it's too good to be true? Download my free guide today and get started!

*Kylene is an Amazon associate and the links provided in this post are affiliate links.

Successful Traveling Part 1 - The Airport

Hey Hey Diva friends! So I always get a lot of questions about traveling. From navigating the airport, to being in a new place, to working around the feelings of relatives who made food....I'm going to answer all of your questions in a short blog series all about travel and food!

I recently took a short trip to Michigan and I would say this is the most difficult trip in terms of food that I've had in quite a while! BUT I'm also here to tell you - if I can do it YOU CAN TOO.

Me with a RISE bar - my new and current obsession...

So let's lay the foundation for the whole series: 

Priority #1 YOU MUST KNOW YOUR BOUNDARIES. Because let's face it. If we don't have them, we will break them....because they don't exist. It's the same as stealing when you have no moral absolutes. Who's to say it's wrong?

What are your non negotiables? Do you have any? If not - set them. NOW. I

ll give you mine. My #1 non-negotiable is that I will not eat anything with wheat or gluten in it knowingly. This is for several reasons. a) I know enough about how it affects your body now to know it's not good whether you have coeliac, a sensitivity, or no observable reactions to eating it. It still causes inflammation and gut damage. So it's not for me! b) I've had a documented HIGH sensitivity to it. Again. Not worth it.

What will I negotiate on? Dairy and sugar. These are 2 things I normally don't have in my home but when in a pinch I'm not as concerned about them sneaking into my snack bars or restaurant orders. You might have a severe dairy reaction however, which would make that a non-negotiable for you. Gas? Skin rashes? It might be better to skip it....

Ok. Now that you've laid the foundation this allows you to easily make choices and know what you're willing  to say yes or no to on your trip. So let's get right down to it and talk about airport foods.

Airport snacks

This one can be tricky as it varies from airport to airport due to size and city! There are however, a few staples that most airports provide. Keep in mind, these are not necessarily foods I recommend make up a majority of your diet - this is surviving on your negotiables in sticky situations.

1.  Nuts (just avoid the mixes with chocolate and sugar added)
2. Chips (when possible choose a better brand like Terra or Jackson's Honest)
3. Yogurt or parfait ( go for greek, high protein and low sugar options)
4. Fruit. Most airports have stands with apples and bananas 
5. Snack bars. Cliff bars, kind bars, Lara bars and That's It bars are usually available. Just make sure to read all the labels s you don't get some of your non-negotiables in there accidentally. No one wants a gassy neighbor on the airplane. 

In flight food

Depending on your flight, if it's really long, at the right time of day, or first class you might have the option to get an in meal flight. They usually have a gluten free option that includes a salad and protein. Skip the yucky dressings and extras. Top your salad with some nuts and skip the alcoholic beverage options. Go with water or black coffee if it's before noon. Oh - and skip that warm cookie they serve up at the end :P

If you aren't on a flight that serves a meal no worries! Sometimes they offer snacks like popcorn, chips or nuts. If they don't, that's ok too because you planned ahead and packed some snacks in your carry on! 

Carryon Snacks

These are good for in airport, on your vacation or on the plane....anytime!

1. Fruit ( grapes, apples, oranges and bananas travel well. Just be careful of the last two if you have blood sugar issues). 
2. Nuts
3. Shakeology ( I bring mine every trip along with a shaker bottle so I can get some cold water and drink it up whenever I'm hungry!
4. Lara bars
5. Thunderbird bars
6. Jerky (read the labels to avoid lots of sugar and/or wheat which is usually in soy sauce)
7. Simple Mills crackers
8. Mediterra Bars (a really nice and delicious way to actually get some greens while traveling)
9. Rise Bar (whey or vegan protein available) a great tasting protein bar with only 3-4 ingredients that you can pronounce.
10. Water  - had to throw this in there. DRINK ALL THE WATER when you travel it's SO important to stay hydrated. Ever notice you get constipated when flying? It's super easy to get dehydrated when traveling. My tips to stay hydrated: 

• Drink water before you fly
• Drink a bottle during flight
• Drink a bottle during your layover
• Drink a bottle on your second flight 
• Grab another bottle when you land.

Airport Meals

Ok, so you have a super long layover and you are SO TIRED of SNACKS. Ugh I know, I get it. So here are some options:

1. Bunless Burger
2. Nachos with corn chips
3. Smoothie from Jamba Juice or whatever smoothie bar they have at that airport
4. Meat and Rice ( just avoid soy sauce and asian meats dipped in sauces you don't know about)
5. Omelet
6. Steak and veggie side
7. Sushi
8. Salad ( either from one of those kiosks or a restaurant)

Yup! All of those are options at an airport!! Will it be as good as home? No way. But stick to those non-negotiables, drink your water, and your tum tum will thank you when you finally get home :)

What are YOUR travel tips (or questions!) Post them below!

Next up....how to navigate family when traveling (or they're visiting)

I suffer from adrenal fatigue....what now?

Hey Hey Diva Friends!

Hey all! Thank you so much for taking the survey recently - if you haven't had a chance yet please take 2 minutes to answer few questions below so I can provide more information and fun content that YOU want...

I was reviewing your answers and one question stuck out to me and I got really excited to answer it!
 

"I suffer from adrenal fatigue like many women.
How can gut health, diet, or exercise help?"

I LOVE THIS QUESTIONS because I too have struggled with adrenal fatigue. In fact being aware of adrenal fatigue and the importance of hormones was what prompted to seek natural healing paths and ultimately led me to FDN!

 Gut health, diet, and exercise are CRUCIAL components in the healing process so let's talk about each one...But before I jump into that, what IS adrenal fatigue? HPA axis dysfunction is the sciency-term for what we commonly call adrenal fatigue. There's a lot of huffing and puffing going on about the name of it because the more we learn about what it actually is, the more we realize it's not that your adrenals are tired but it's actually a breakdown in your stress regulation system.
 

Your hypothalamus receives signals from your environment (mental, emotional, or external) that communicate stress. Your hypothalamus then translates that information to your pituitary gland and your pituitary gland tells your adrenals what hormones to pump out. When we are in an acute stress state your adrenals are pumping out adrenaline, cortisol, and other fight or flight hormones.

Typically, this stress goes away shortly and there is a feed back loop where your adrenals communicate back to your brain effectively shutting everything back down and your body returns to homeostasis. Adrenal fatigue is when this hypothalmus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been activated so long, that the wires get crossed and the feedback loop is no longer effective. When this happens certain hormones become imbalanced and your body cannot regulate them in the appropriate ratios anymore. 

This is  when people begin to feel symptoms of fatigue, exhaustion, inability to cope with stress, blood sugar irregulation, anxiety and more.

There are many reasons that this can happen. Severe acute stress or trauma can induce adrenal fatigue, but more commonly in our society it's brought on by chronic stress. Chronic stress can be environmental (think mold or chemical overload), nutritional, mental/emotional, or physical. So let's talk about gut health, diet and exercise and they can help or hinder your healing process.

Gut Health 

Your gut is commonly called the "second brain" but some experts wish it was more accurately called the first brain. Your gut sends more signals to your brain than your brain does to your gut. That's right....your gut essentially controls your brain. All those little microbiota in there are crucial for brain health... 2 parts of the HPA axis are in....the BRAIN! 

You can get really in depth and talk about the science of how neurotransmitters and hormones are regulated in the gut, or you can go the woo-woo route and talk about how you manifest stress in the gut. It doesn't matter which angle you come from, the health of the gut is incredibly important for regulating your hormones AND your brain.

Diet

What helps your gut health the most but diet?  Anything from inflammation in the gut, to hyper permability (leaky gut), to gut dysbiosis (parasites or bacterial imbalances etc...) can be influenced in a positive or negative way from your diet.

• Foods can cause inflammation or they can calm it. 
• Foods can cause the tight junctions to open up in your gut lining or food can protect and soothe your gut lining.
• Certain foods can regulate hormones
• Food and fiber and regulate hormones, increase gut motility, and eliminate toxins (buildup of which can cause brain and hormone imbalances)

Thankfully, this is one aspect of our lives we have complete control over. When we commit to a pesticide free, chemical free, whole food approach to our diets, we lay the foundation for other changes to be more effective.

Exercise

While exercise is a helpful acute stress for healthy people, if you are in the exhaustive stage of adrenal fatigue (low cortisol, depleted hormones, tired often, inconsistent sleep and diurnal rhythms...) then exercise becomes another stressor that actually DEPLETES your body of the few resources it has left. 

When trying to heal from adrenal fatigue calming exercise like walking and yoga are the best options. As your body heals you can increase the amount of exercise but since chronic exercise and over exercise can damage the gut, that's just another reason to take it easy until you've made lots of headway in the right direction!

Takeaway:

Stress relief, the right nutrition, targeted healing for the gut, and health promoting movement are all steps you can take to reverse your adrenal fatigue, balance your hormones, calm anxiety and get back to your best life! I know because I've been there and this year, 2018, I feel better than ever! I'm not done healing and I have more to work on, but I have seen amazing sleep, more libido, and tons more energy just to name a few improvements! 

Interested in digging deep to find the root cause of your hormone imbalances? Click the link below to schedule a free call to find if working together is right for you!

Do you or have you struggled from adrenal fatigue? I'd love to hear your experience...share in the comments below!

Where the heck do I start?

Hey Hey Diva friends!

I know. It can be overwhelming. Gluten free, Keto, Low carb, High fat, low fat, macros, portion control....WHERE DO I START?!?!?! What diet is right for me?! How in the world are you supposed to know where to start when there is so much conflicting information out there?!

Well today I'm going to give you 3 mindset shifts that I hope will allow you to being trusting yourself more and listening to your body for the answers....

1) Eat Real Food

Intuitively, we know this is the right answer don't we? Like deep in our CORE we know that a weight watchers lasagna dinner isn't as good for you as a sweet potato with broccoli and beef roast.

In our heart of hearts, we know that our bodies are begging for real food and normally what hinders us from jumping on the bandwagon wholeheartedly is convenience. Right? That meal that's mailed to our door is convenience. McDonald's is convenience. Frozen diet food is convenience. But if we stop and check in with ourselves and step back for a minute....are any of those providing VALUE?

Besides convenience, are those foods worth anything? Do they help build my heart, my lungs, my brain? Do they support my hormones, my moods, my energy? Do they help me prevent cancer, alzheimers, dementia and diabetes? If the answer is no well....then we need to make some changes.

Here is the one question you need to determine if something should go into your mouth:

"Did it come from nature? Or did it come from a factory?"  

If it came from nature, or is a combination of things from nature (aka lara bars as an example - 2-6 whole food ingredients that you could technically make at home) then have at it. If it's from a factory and packed full of sugar, chemicals, preservatives or "other"...well...you know what to do ( or in this case, what NOT to do...)

2) No macro is bad

Macro is short for macronutrient. The main three nutrients that our diet is comprised of: Carbs, Fat, and Protein. Depending on which diet you've been on  in the past, (maybe all of them like me!) you've probably vilified one or all macronutrients at some point. "Don't eat carbs you'll blow up! Don't eat too much protein, don't eat fat ever!".....All of that is garbage.

Your body needs all three macros. Desperately. Let me say that another way. Your body is in dire need of carbohydrates. It's fueled on fat, and it builds and maintains muscles with protein. Don't ever fall prey to a fad that tells you any of the macros are inherently bad.

Here's the catch. You have to follow step #1 in order for step #2 to be true. If you are eating a processed standard American diet then yes - carbs are garbage.

Processed foods are the entire reason we HAVE a diet industry in the first place. With processed foods you HAVE to portion control and calorie count.

If you don't, you'll blow up like a balloon from all the sugar, hydrogenated trans fats, hybridized grains, and so forth...

When you eat real food none of that happens. So stop weighing your carbs, and counting your pistachios....carbs and fat are good for you. Did they come from nature? Or did they come from a box?

3) Think minimums not maximums 

We are SO USED to this restrictive mentality. What's mind-blowing about all of this is how much it resembles a hamster wheel! Processed foods make me crave more processed foods - they light up my brain like a motherboard stimulating appetite, addiction, and belly fat....so in order to control my weight, my appetite and my cravings I must measure, weight, and count my food... I must CONTROL and not go beyond my MAXIMUM......

BUT! When you jump OFF the hamster wheel of dieting and choose real foods that feed your brain, balance your hormones, stabilize your moods, quench your appetite send the proper hunger and full signals....you can then begin to view food as a GIFT. You can begin to view food as something that SERVES you instead of ENSLAVING YOU. You can then being thinking "How much of this does my body need? How can I get more of this into my body?"

Start thinking about #YOUTRITION not deprivation. Believe it or not, many many people I work with are under eaters. They beat themselves up because they are overweight (not understanding the hamster wheel yet) and think they must have no self control. While occasionally it might be a case of "get-off-the-couch- and-get-your-life-together", more often it's simply a case of the wrong foods wreaking havoc on your brain, your metabolism, your hunger, and your appetite. Get those foods out and watch the weight melt off, your moods balance, your energy increase, and your thinking become more clear. Essentially....a light bulb goes off and your body says, THANK YOU!

p.s. Would you like more support, tips, recipes, and monthly events? Join my FREE Facebook group: Stop Dieting and Live Your Life today!! 

I'd love to hear from YOU! When you made a switch to eating real foods what has your experience been like? Share below!

#YOUtrition

Hey hey Diva friends!

I was trying to think of a fun way I could refer to my personal food philosophy and YOUtrition is what came to mind. I kinda like it, what do you think?

So what IS #YOUtriton? (that's right, I aded a hashtag....get out there and share this post - I want see #Youtrition everywhere because when you embrace it your life will CHANGE!) :P

Simply put, #YOUtrition is the nutrition that is right for YOU. It's as wonderful, unique, individualized and special as you are. Everyone's genes, life history, mental/physical/emotional stresses are different and so the right combination of foods to fuel your body is just as unique. Just because a food is healthy doesn't mean it's healthy for YOU.

#Youtrition has 2 main steps: 

1) Eliminate the garbage. This covers everyone regardless of genes, environment, lifestyle, age, gender....and is beneficial for any lifestyle.

If the "food" is processed, modified, hybridized, ditch it. If it has chemicals, sugar, or words you don't recognize on the ingredients list, pass it over. Focus on REAL, whole, unprocessed, organic-as-much-as-possible food. 

2) Once you have #1 under control, this is where it gets fun. Personalize your diet to fit YOUR body and YOUR life. For example: How do you feel on low carb? How do you feel on high carb? What about high fat or low fat? How do you feel with squashes or tomatoes? Do you feel energized and awesome or do you get gassy or tired? What about Dairy (raw, organic, pasture raised of course)...do you tolerate it or not?

Just because butternut squash is packed with nutrition and could be an amazing source of carbs for Jim down the street doesn't mean that's the right food for Sandra next door. She may experience a headache, gas or bloating. In that case, put it on the no-fly list and move on.

You have to DISENGAGE to make this fun!

Drop the mentality that because something isn't right for you the world is OVER ha! Trust me, I've been there. I got sad for a minute when I realized I couldn't have cinnamon or mint this year. HELLO holiday EVERYTHING :) But your mentality is super key in making this enjoyable. Take a "can do" attitude and make it an adventure. For everything you CAN'T eat there are tons of new foods, flavors and spices you CAN. Be open to trying new things, experimenting and expanding your palate. 

If you have trouble with your mentality - WORK ON IT. This is not something innate to people. In fact, people are naturally pessimistic, fearful and negative. Positivity, productivity, and discipline take practice and personal growth. Some awesome books you might like to check out are:

Extreme Ownership

The Mind Connection

Eat That Frog

Finding the right #YOUtrition can take some time, but it's rewarding!

Keep it simple. Master step #1 first and you may find that's the only step you need. Your weight, rosacea, mood swings, and bloating may disappear when you get ride of the junk. 

If you have other goals or specific complaints that stick around then move on to step #2! Break it down, keep lists or a journal and give each change you make at least a few days to really determine it's effectiveness if not longer.

During step #2 you might find you need some guidance of WHERE to start. I know that I was surprised to learn of "healthy" things that were not healthy for me (At least not at this time) like yellow squash, and chicken! 

The MRT Leap food sensitivities test helped me a LOT and gave me a strong foundation to build my own #Youtrition from the ground up. I've adjusted and modified since taking the test and it has helped so much. Now I'm helping my clients do the same!

Be your own health advocate and discover whats exactly right for YOUR unique body.

If you're ready to take YOUR health to the next level and you want some FREE recipes, fun, and accountability along the way, join my Facebook group "Stop Dieting and Live Your Life!" I'm running my FREE Holiday Survival Guide event now through December and you can download that here!

If you really want in-depth support, 1:1 attention and guidance on gut health, balancing your micro biome and restoring your heath from the inside out, check out my new 8 week program "Get Gutsy With Me" Launching January 15, 2018!!! You will have access to additional testing including the MRT Leap food sensitivities testing to personalize your experience! 

I'd love to hear YOUR story! Comment below with any thoughts or questions!

4 Steps for a Successful Fitness Routine

Hey there Diva friends! 

I get questions all the time about working out, so I wanted to give you my top 4 tips to being successful!!! 

Top 4 workout tips

1) Have a plan. There's nothing worse for a personal trainer than going to the gym and seeing the same people walking on the treadmill for hours at a time days on end....why? Because they NEVER SEE RESULTS. I lied - perhaps there is one worse thing, and that's seeing people either completely avoid the weight rack or go over there an have no idea what they are doing, no concept of form, and no plan on how to reach their goals!!!!

So have a plan. Know the equipment. Be willing to ask questions. Get out of your current routine!!!! If your current routine was working, I have a feeling you wouldn't be reading this post :) 

Even if you DO have a plan or a goal like "I want to tone my arms" - do you know the number of reps that are optimal? The weight you should use? The rests you should take? Will you (be honest) push yourself hard enough when you're alone and show up as many times a week as you need to? If you are SUPER self motivated and disciplined then WOOHOO! But for the rest of us that leads me to point #2 :)

2) Get yourself a trainer! This might be long term, or it might be short term to familiarize yourself with proper form, what weights to use, how to create a program that works for you etc....Tell your trainer what your goals are and come up with a plan together. 

                            Even me!

If you can't afford a trainer or, like me, you ARE a trainer and want another option, use at home workout programs! I use Beachbody at home workout programs every day. Why? Because they are effective, planned (so I don't have to train myself!), and there is plenty of variety to keep me interested and challenged. PLUS I don't have to hit the gym when I'm not training clients, I can just get down in my tiny basement and get it done when I have time in my day!

Either way - live training or in home workouts - These are ways you can set goals, see what proper form is, have a set schedule, and reach past your own mental limits!

p.s. to get access to EVERY at home workout beachbody has PLUS 1 month of shakeology for ONLY $160, click HERE! You'll also be added to my monthly challenges where I post encouragement and meal plans!

3) Focus on nutrition. It doesn't matter how awesome your workout program is, if you aren't supporting it with good nutrition you WON'T see results!!! Nutrition is truly 90% of your success. It fuels your brain, your cells, your energy and your muscles! Without the proper nutrition you will feel tired, unmotivated, your muscles won't respond appropriately, and your body composition will stay the same. But WITH nutrition PLUS strength training your fat will burn off, your body composition will become leaner, stronger, more muscular, and you will reach a happy, healthy weight!

4) Don't forget to stretch. No matter who you are, what age you are, or how naturally limber you are, do NOT forget to stretch! Make sure you warm up sufficiently for the excercises you will do, and cool down long enough to bring your heart rate down and get those muscles lengthened back out after you've contracted and pushed them hard!

I hope this helps! If you want set up your FREE 30 minute consultation with me, just comment below or message me with your e-mail. Can't wait to chat more :)

By for now!

How to make cooking fun

Hey hey Diva friends!!!

I know how daunting it can be to change your lifestyle and try to start cooking WHILE you are still absorbing information, learning new things, and trying to figure out whats what! I wanted to provide a few tips to help you make it more fun along the way.

1) MINDSET

Mindset is key in pretty much every area of our life isn't it? With our diet and lifestyle it's SUPER easy to let our mindset get in the way. We think things like "it's too hard", "It's too expensive", "I can't cook", "I have no time" etc....

                     There is a whole book you can read about this if you're interested!

Those are all excuses and I want you to drop them at the door! Anything you WANT to do you find the time, money, resources, and ability TO do! Cooking doesn't have to be hard, expensive OR time consuming! You just need the right mindset, the right tools, and the right plan :) 

I would encourage you to shift from the difficulty mindset into the ADVENTURE mindset! Cooking is a really fun adventure! You find out new recipes you like, new flavors, new tricks, new tools, new spices etc! Plus when your body starts changing and you feel better, all of a sudden the effort is #worthit.

Along the same lines, be willing to try new things! Invest in a quality spice set that allows you to make multiple flavor combinations, follow new recipes, and not get bored. 

Want to purchase some high quality spices from a trusted source? click here!

When you hit the store, make it your goal to stay in the produce section for 95% of your shopping trip and you can't go wrong. Grab a new fruit, a new veggie and research where it comes from and how to cook it!

Hot tip: If you google Paleo__"insert vegetable or recipe here"____ you will find a clean, whole foods, healthy way to cook almost anything!

Don't know what Paleo means? Read my last blog post all about it!

2) ATMOSPHERE

Spice up more than your food! Play some music and get in the MOOD to cook :) Whether you set aside 2 hours on Sunday to meal prep for the entire week or you enjoy 30 minutes every evening after work to get things chopped and in the oven, find your perfect pandora playlist and have some fun! Currently I'm on a French Cafe music kick thanks to our recent vacation. Find what inspires you, puts you in a happy place, and get to it!

                   Hey get crazy- maybe you'll end up with some fun kitchen karaoke!

If you have someone that will cook WITH you - even better! Kids? Have them participate by measuring things out or reading you the recipe! 

3) KEEP IT SIMPLE

DON'T overcomplicate things.....again, we get stuck in this headspace that cooking has to be hard and cooking healthy must be even harder. WRONG! I am a simple kinda gal friends. I never wanted to be a "housewife" and I certainly never thought I would enjoy cooking but I do!

Check out this website for delicious recipes made with only a few ingredients...

I've really learned to love making food at home. I know what the ingredients are, I have control over the quality, AND I get to cook according to my own tastes and shake it up when I feel like it. In fact, over the past few years I've enjoyed eating away from home less and less. Honestly we almost never have the same meals 2 weeks in a row - I'm always looking for new recipes and while we have our favorites we are constantly trying new ideas.

One reason I love paleo recipes so much is because they are (most of the time) EASY! Hey - when you can have an incredible dinner by adding a spice rub to some meat, throwing it in the oven for 30 minutes while you cook some vegetables and maybe adding a tasty side or fruit? BOOM. I'm there.

Dessert? NO PROBLEM - I definitely have a sweet tooth and most paleo baking recipes go something like this: 1) mix the dry ingredients 2) mix the wet ingredients 3) throw it in the oven. In other words, paleo is basically Kylene proof. So if I can do it- you can DEFINITELY do it! 

Admittedly some baking ingredients (almond flour, coconut flour etc....) can add up so if budgeting is important you might want to limit the desserts to 1 a week or less. Easier on your budget AND waistline!

Hot tip #2: Make a batch of brownies and freeze them! Your investment will save you from those late night cookie binges and satisfy any sweet craving when it hits. 

Almond Butter brownies

Chick Pea Brownies (super inexpensive!)

Ok I've talked about how simple it is - SHOW ME THE RECIPES right? :) Resources are your friend when starting out. Having some foolproof bloggers that you know you can trust is the best! When my family started this process Elana Amsterdam saved us. She is beyond skilled in giving you the best tasting recipes with the fewest ingredients possible. Talk about simple! She also divides her website up by special dietary needs, so whether you are egg free, nut free etc....she has recipes for you clearly listed. Check out her website HERE!

Hope this has helped. Bye for now!

Taking the stress out of 21 day fix meal prep...

Hi there Diva friends! I get it....BELIEVE me do I get it. When I decided to hop on board the 21 day fix meal prep train about a year ago, I sat down, looked at the requirements and immediately felt super overwhelmed. I wanted to quit before I got started! I mean, I had a great thing going, I already ate paleo, I was at a healthy weight my workouts were good....

Honestly, if I hadn't had the pressure of the upcoming Beachbody Classic physique competition I probably never would have tried! But I'm glad I did because I've taken bits and pieces of what I learned to use more regularly (aka making tons of veggies over the weekend!), it helped me understand my challengers who go through the 21 day fix program, and it's always good to challenge myself with new things.

All that being said, I'm someone who likes to be efficient, get things done quickly, and enjoy my food. I mean - I LOVE FOOD. So I wanted to share this article on how to make meal prep more enjoyable, so that hopefully you can learn to love it too!

1) Take a Deep Breath

That might sound silly, but like I said - when I started I was super overwhelmed! If you're following a plan like the 21 day fix container system, then take a deep breath and break it down into easy steps. For example, step 1 is to write down at the top of my page how many containers I can have each day. For me that is Plan C which is 1800-1999 calories (by the way I don't encourage anyone to go below that plan!) so it's 5 Green containers, 5 Red (protein), 4 yellow (carb), 3 purple (fruit) 1 orange (seeds) 1 blue (healthy fat) and 5 tsp of oil. Make a tally at the top of your page.

Then I write my meals down like this:

B:

S:

L:

S:

D:

Once I have that outline I can choose my meals and fill in the blanks. I often find it's easier to start with a recipe for dinner and then fill in the gaps afterwards. If pineapple kabobs are for dinner that is 1 red, 1/2 purple and 1/2 green, so I write that down and can fill in the rest of my day accordingly! There are TONS of recipes out there that are "fix approved" and have the container equivalents all figured out for you. But don't be shy about using your favorite recipes and doing your best to guesstimate how it would fit in!

2) Keep it simple but don't get bored

In the beginning you are so overwhelmed that it's easy to just be basic and make one protein, one carb, one veggie all in bulk for the week. I would encourage you not to do that for a few reasons, one being that your body needs more nutritional variety that that would provide, and two if your food doesn't taste good you won't stick with the plan! 

*NOTE* Shakeology counts as 1 red, and provides lots of extra nutrients to your day so it's a valuable addition to any meal plan!!!! Plus it taste like a treat, boost your energy, curbs your cravings and provides probiotics (all from whole food, natural sources!)

I would encourage you to make a variety of options for each container and then mix and match within your day! You will end up finding that combinations are really good like sweet potato with chicken and broccoli, or rice with beef and asparagus!

Even within a single container think of fun combos you can make like peppers+onions+mushrooms+spices sautéed in water. That = a green container! 

Use lots of spices, seasonings and flavorful ingredients to keep it interesting. Last night my husband and I made a whole chicken, shredded it, added some spices to the bowl so it wouldn't be plain chicken, and then used the chicken carcass to make our favorite homemade bone broth! The bone broth can be used later to cook rice and quinoa more flavorfully, and of COURSE we will drink it too!

3) Be flexible

Anytime you try something new it's really easy to get super dogmatic about it like if you go "off plan" something terrible is going to happen. I'm all about a healthy lifestyle NOT dieting, so PLEASE if you ever meal prep with something as specific as 21 day fix, give yourself some grace! You will go out to eat - make the best choices you can and eyeball it! You will make casseroles for your family that don't allow you to portion everything exactly - do your best and don't stress!!!

21 day fix meal prep and other meal planning structures, are simply here to give you a guideline. It's not a religion, and I promise nothing bad will happen to you if you estimate that cup of blueberries instead of pulling out your purple container!!!!  :)

These guidelines are here to get you on track, teach you some basics about nutrition (hello 5 servings of veggies every day!!) and introduce you to tips and  tricks that allow you to prep a lot of food over the weekend and save time during the work week!

                        My lunch from today! 1 Red + 1 Green+ 2 yellow + 1.5tsp

4) Try it and then live your life

This system is NOT forever. If you've never tried it before I would encourage you to use it for about a month! Then I want you to live your life without portion control and calorie counting and simply listen to your body! As long as you are still eating the nutritionally dense, whole, healthy, real foods, you should be fine! This isn't a diet tool that you go off of and gain 10 pounds. There should be no fear associated with dropping the program....it's simple a step to get you started. 

Once you've figured it out an gotten used to how it works, the stress is gone and you can bang out a meal plan in no time! Pull it out every once in awhile as needed to get you back on track, and then let it go. Remember, it's a TOOL. Just one of many that you have in your arsenal!

Join my monthly challenge group for daily fun and accountability! Click here to sign up or message me for a personal recommendation! 

p.s. Play some music and get your hubby or friend to cook with you! An enjoyable atmosphere can make the process way more fun and doing it with someone makes the time go faster! :)