Motivation to stick to your workout regime is one of the biggest reasons why people fail.  It's not that the workouts are ineffective, its that people have a hard time sticking to their program long term. Maybe this is/was you; you decide it's time, you’re going to workout and get fit.  You get the home equipment or gym membership. You get cute clothes for the gym and you make it your mission! You are all excited and hit the gym for 2, maybe 3 weeks of hard working out. You feel great, tell all your friends about your new workout plan and how you’re working on a “new you”. Then, after a couple weeks, you think, man this is hard.  Maybe you feel overtired from work and decide, I’ll skip for today, but I’ll go tomorrow!  Tomorrow comes and going for drinks with the girls sounds WAY more appealing than the gym!  Then the next day you just don’t feel like it, so you skip then too. Before you know it, two weeks have gone by since you’ve worked out and you t...

The big questions, "How do I lose weight?  How do I lose this body fat?" Fitness professionals have literally made a career out of this big question.  Some stick to science and facts and some decide that they'd rather promote horrible weight loss tactics targeting a vulnerable group of people who are trusting these "coaches" with their time, efforts and wallets. It really isn't so complicated; in terms of weight loss/body fat loss, etc. let's stick to facts and science.  Why?  Because it's what actually works! When it comes to weight loss or fat loss, there is only one way to do it. Caloric Deficit! Yes for weight loss or fat loss, maintenance or weight gain, it is about calories!  #sorrynotsorry.  Energy balance is key to lose, gain or maintain weight. Let's go over WHY calories matter to weight loss. First, what is a calorie?  Calories are not evil things that sew your clothes tighter every night, making your jeans impossible to f...

Oh, the scale! That dreaded device that sits in our bathroom and haunts us!   Is this familiar to you? You get up in the morning, stumble into the bathroom, and start your daily routine; just before you hop in the shower, you strip down to your skivvies, cross your fingers, close your eyes and hop on that plastic device that blinks 2-4 times then comes up with a number.   You sigh, maybe even feel sad and frustrated. The number is SUPPOSED to go down, why isn't it changing? Maybe it was that piece of pizza on the weekend, maybe it was the glass or two (or bottle!) of Pino on Friday after work. You’ve been working out and trying to watch what you eat, feeling energetic, sleeping better but still, no budging on the scale!  You swear to yourself you’ll do better today, maybe go for an extra-long workout or only have salads and celery, but in the back of your mind, your frustration is playing tricks on you. Who here has experienced what I just described above...

Who has ever heard of the word macronutrients or in short Macros?  Probably not many people unless you've been in the "fitness world" for a while.  You may hear me mention macros in some of my posts but I've never actually talked about what they are. What is the deal with macros?  What are they?  Why do I care about them?  To answer some of those questions, let's go over some details. Macros are short for macronutrients.  Macronutrients are broken down into 3 categories: protein, carbohydrates and fats.  These 3 categories make up all foods (excluding water) and are the building blocks of nutrition.  These nutrients are described as 'macro' because you need them in large quantities. The macronutrients that you eat in your food make up your calories.  We all know when it comes to weight loss, you have to eat fewer calories than your body requires, i.e be in a calorie deficit.  So it's pretty simple right, eating fewer calories t...

It is no secret that the key to losing weight is being in a caloric deficit.  A caloric deficit means that you are intaking fewer calories than your body requires for daily function.  It does not mean that you have to eat 800 calories a day, even just a slight 20-30% deficit can make a difference.   When it comes down to weight gain/maintenance/loss, it is a matter of calories.  For some people who like numbers and don’t mind tracking, using a calorie tracking app such as My Fitness Pal really helps put things into perspective.  Some find they just need to track for a few months consistently until they understand what they can intake on a daily basis and then they can relax on the counting. Then there are others who cringe at the thought of having to track their food. If you’re one of the people who think “oh dear God NO, I am not counting calories” don’t fear, there are some easy things you can do to cut down on calories and get yourself closer to your ...