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I'm excited!

Some of my favs are on sale in the THM store until Thursday (9/15) at midnight.

As we are heading into the winter months you can bet I will be stocking up on lotions & creams.

Try the Luscious Lavender cream before bed or the Orange silk cream is simply delightful.

The decadent Fountain cream is on sale, what a treat for your skin. 

There is so much on sale right now it is hard to even know where to start. 

Be sure to stock your pantry with some of these:

>>shameless crackers

>>oolong tea

>>crispy addictions

and Protein Pleasure cookies

I'd be honored if you use my affiliate link for all your THM shopping needs. 

What does it take to be successful in reaching your goals?

I want to share with you what my most successful clients have in common and how they overcome common pitfalls to achieve success in their Trim Healthy Mama journey. 

• Make a quality commitment to adopt the plan as a lifestyle. Not a perfect commitment, but an “I am in” day in and day out because they were done with dieting. Done with the mental drama. Create a vision and a “why” for showing up in a healthy way every day.

• Redefine what success is. Success is no longer just the number on the scale or perfect food choices. Success is learning how to show up for yourself daily and honor yourself with your choices. Success is about how you think and learning how to harness the power of your mind to live to your full potential. Success is realizing that failure is a part of the process. Success is meeting yourself right where you are and taking baby steps to the next level. 

• Choose to be imperfectly consisten...

Successful people are people who have learned to fail without making themselves into a failure.

Learn to stay on your THM journey with these 6 keys:

Mindset: First, start with believing that you can, even if you have not proved it to yourself yet. Here’s the deal, if you believe that you can’t then you won’t. But, if you are willing to believe that you can eat the Trim Healthy Mama way, your brain will go to work trying to prove it. 

➡ Action Step: Each day begin saying to yourself, “I am the girl that can learn to be consistently on plan. I believe that I can.” Don’t let that old story that you tell yourself run the show.

Be Prepared: Set yourself up for success, keep THM foods, desserts, snacks, and meals on hand to make it easier for you to stay the course. Preparation is key. 

Keep it simple: Do THM your way. What is working for you? What can you sustainably do right now? 

Give yourself lots of grace: If it is not 100%, don’t worry. B+ effort is enough to get y...

Do you have some super-friendly fat cells hanging out in places you don’t want? 

I know you’ve been told to starve those fat cells and exercise the heck out of them but what if that advice doesn’t actually work? 

Let’s look at the best ways you can shrink those fat cells while boosting your metabolism.

>Exercise the right way 

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has been shown to increase fat burning even at rest. But it is important how you exercise during this season. No more than 2-3 intense workouts per week for a total of around 40 minutes is the recommendation for Wise Women. Too much intense exercise can cause what the body perceives as stress and increase cortisol levels (fat storage). Protein after a workout is essential for muscle repair and blood sugar stabilization. Along with HIIT (low impact counts), strength training is important for reducing bone loss and increasing muscle mass which increases fat burning and metabolism. Women over 40 should perform 2-3...

Decreasing belly fat isn't about one factor. Take a look at each area and choose what to implement to see the results you want.

1. Reduce cortisol

Cortisol is the primary stress hormone. Cortisol imbalances cause weight gain, and weight gain causes cortisol imbalance. This is a crazy hamster wheel that you have to jump off of to find balance.

Choose one area to focus on: 

>>Get more sleep

>>Try an adaptogenic herb like Ashwagandha

>>Find simple ways to reduce your daily stress, and try asking for help.

2. Avoid dehydration

3. Reduce alcohol and caffeine 

4. Focus on anti-inflammatory foods 

Choose foods like clean grass-fed protein, wild-caught fish, free-range chicken, green leafy vegetables, low glycemic fruits, nuts, seeds, natural oils, butter, olive oil, and whole grains. 

5. Avoid insulin spikes 

Keeping your blood sugar balanced is key to decreasing belly fat and increasing your level of health. The best way for you to stay balanced is to s...

Getting older isn’t all bad, in fact there are so many good things about increasing age. But weight gain, increased belly fat and stubborn weight are not a “good” part of getting older. Let’s discover the reasons behind the extra weight and why it can be so hard to lose.

It’s all about hormones. As women, we have been gifted with a plethora of amazing hormones, moving into the menopause season of life causes those hormones to start shifting to new levels. This shift is usually at the root of most of your frustration with weight loss.

While there are a ton of changes you can make on a daily basis to your diet and lifestyle I would highly recommend that you find a Functional medicine doctor to work with you so you can know the hard data behind your symptoms.

Here are some of the key areas to investigate for optimal fat loss:

• Declining Estrogen levels - can cause your cortisol & androgen levels to increase. While hormonal balance isn’t possible, you can support your body and hor
...

Why do we avoid hard things? 

Because we are human 

You’re not alone in your desire to avoid hard things. 

 It is a self-preservational instinct! Hard things can be painful. 

 Yet, we must be careful that we don’t give ourselves the name of “undisciplined”, “lazy”, or “weak”. These may be characteristics that you need to develop, but they are not what define you. You don’t need to wear those labels as name tags. As a matter of fact, the desire to avoid the hard and difficult things in life is found in the nature of your brain. Yep, the brain is wired to avoid pain (aka- hard things) and to seek pleasure (eat the treats). There is a reason why the “road less traveled” is harder than the well-worn path. The well-worn path is easier! That same concept is happening in your brain. The thoughts you think the most are the well-worn paths (literal neuro pathways) in your brain, therefore the easier ones to believe. 

 And why is that good to understand? Because the resistance to doing hard...

So, what can you do about hormonal weight gain? 

Well, your plan of action will depend on what hormones are out of whack but these basic actions are a good place to start. 

CHILL OUT. 

When you are stressed, your body produces lots of cortisol to help alleviate the stress. That's why cortisol is called the stress hormone. Chronic stress can lead to weight gain insulin resistance, among other issues. Therefore, your first step to dealing with hormonal weight gain is to deal with the cause of your stress. Meditate, do yoga, practice mindfulness. Whatever you do, try to relax. The less stressed you feel, the better.   

GET SOME REST. 

If you have poor sleeping habits, it's time to work on that.  

People who sleep less have been shown to have higher BMIs. Try to get 7 or 8 hours of sleep a night. This will help regulate your hormones, returning your system to a healthy rhythm. Your body and your brain need to rest and reset. This is the only way to get your hormones back i...

Ever fallen down the rabbit trail of shame and guilt when your weight starts to creep up on you and there doesn’t seem to be a good reason why?

Why is it that our first instinct is to blame ourselves for unexplained weight gain? 

But what if your weight gain isn’t about self-control or lack of exercise. What if the thing stopping you from shedding those extra pounds is like a plug in your drain keeping all the nasty dishwater stuck in your sink? You can’t shed the pounds until you figure out what is stopping your body from releasing that extra weight.

If you are dealing with unexplained weight problems, the chances are that your hormones are to blame. 

Let’s look at some common symptoms you may be experiencing if your hormones need support:  

• Rapid weight gain (especially in belly, hips, thighs) 
• Difficulty losing weight (even with a diet and exercise)  
• Anxiety 

• Craving carbohydrates + sugar 
• Depression 
• Fatigue (especially in late afternoon) 
• Hair loss...

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Let’s talk about the factors that help you lose weight and those that keep you from losing weight.

Believe it or not the scale is not the best instrument to measure your fat loss. The scale is only one type of measurement, it’s just a piece of metal, it’s a tool that can give you data but it is only telling you one thing - pounds up, down or the same. Those numbers can be influenced by a number of factors so you can’t take this number too seriously.

Let me suggest 2 better ways to measure your actual weight or fat loss. Measuring your body and noticing how your clothes fit or using a smart scale will give you a more accurate picture or your weight. A smart scale, which I use, will tell you how much fat you have and how much lean muscle. Your goal is to increase your lean muscle and decrease your fat.

Let’s dive in and talk about the 10 factors that aff...