I had been in fitness as an instructor and a trainer for a little over a decade
And like most of us, I subscribed to eating 6 meals a day, low fat, high carbohydrate, low calories and really watching that
It sort of work for me
I never really had a weight problem, but I have always been interested in what is best for my body
I just really wanted to take my nutrition education further
I love Dr. Josh Axe and I followed him for quite some time, and when he opened up the Institute of Nutritional Leadership, I studied with him
He was really the one that introduced me to a Ketogenic diet
And I just became obsessed about it
I was not looking to lose weight, I was looking to gain weight
But I did have a group of clients that I was working with who totally plateaued on their weight loss
No matter how they cut out calories or how much they exercised, they were still not losing and they were not feeling good
So I had approached them about trying Keto
In 8 weeks together, these women lost 20 lbs after being stalled for a while
For me personally, I was able to break this lifelong addiction that I had to sugar
Honestly, I did let myself get a little too thin at one point
Instead of eating a lot more, I was more gentle to my body
I guest starred teaching spin, which is my first love
Spin is my favorite workout ever
I don’t really teach anything now
I love HIIT and strength workouts
What happened was, I dropped down to 13% body fat. For some women, that’s fine but for me, it just wasn’t
When I am around 18%, it’s when I feel and look my best
It was mentally hard to gain the weight
My husband thinks that I looked a lot better now that I have gained weight
When I was over exercising and not sleeping, I had adrenal burn-out and was cranky
It’s like being pregnant but without the joy of having a baby
One of our coaches is working at a med spa for years
She really loves the non-surgical approach to age reversal
She said that the number one thing to age reversal is strength training
I have seen many people get lean and get fit and it is amazing
Different strategies work for different people
But, I am coming from a different mindset
I don’t want to continue to crave those types of food
When I eat foods like that (sugar), I crave more
I do have my client that I am working with, and I do let them track their macros for a duration of time that we work together
Truthfully, I do not track my macros anymore
I only do if I feel like I am getting fluffy
I also think that it is important to track for a little while to know where you feel best
There are so many people we have helped uncover hidden food sensitivities simply by counting macros
I truly do understand that we can’t always buy organic grass-fed food and I totally get that
But just real whole foods is one of the important pillars
Eat real food and drink a lot of water – those are two things you can easily start doing now
The thing with net and total carbs, it really just depends on the person
If somebody needs Ketosis in therapeutic purposes, we really are looking at total carbs
If somebody is insulin resistance, I definitely have them looking at total carbs
If somebody is generally healthy and maybe we can start looking at net carbs as long as it’s good sources of fiber
I used to eat those quest bars
And I was wondering why I was still hungry and craving sugar
FAVORITE EXPERIENCE WITH KETO
The sustained energy
The sugar addiction thing is probably the biggest
I grew up in Hershey, Pennsylvania, so I legit grew up with chocolate milk in my bottle
I did not go through the Keto flu, but on day 5 of my Keto journey, I was wanting Nutella
And I realized, I have an addiction for food and I don’t want to be addicted to anything
So that one moment of clarity was the biggest thing Keto has given me
During my hormonal times of the month, instead of going for sweets I make sure I have a good quality magnesium on my hand because it is usually chocolate that I want
Or I am going into my cabinet and making an apple cider vinegar cocktail
I will put a tbsp. of apple cider vinegar in a pint glass with water and ice, a sprinkle of cream of tartar, a squeeze of lime juice and a little dash of sea salt mixed together
FAVORITE KETO FOODS
I am totally a bulletproof coffee lover
I love MCT oil and butter
Macadamia nuts for on the go
I love beef
I love wings and I make them in an air fryer
TOUGH SPOTS
In the very beginning of my Keto journey, I realized I was super addicted to nutella and all other sugary things
Now, I can easily say that I can’t have sugary foods
ADVICE
Keep it simple with real whole foods
BENEFITS
My blood panels are coming back great
I never really had with big issues with them
I was starting to develop skin tags on my body and I did not realize that it was diet related
Since Keto, they were gone
My hair and skin have really improved
FAVORITE RECIPE
Chicken in my instant pot
I put an uncured bacon slices on the bottom and cover it turmeric, black pepper and a little sea salt
FAVORITE QUOTE
Live the life you love, love the life you live
FAVORITE BOOK
You are a Badass
MOST GRATFUL FOR
My family
FAVORITE MOVIE
When Harry met Sally
GUILTY PLEASURE
Keto Nutella
COFFEE OR TEA
Coffee
FAVORITE VACTION SPOT
Belgium
Paris
Prague
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU
I will be working with other female professionals that have online programs in a private mastermind community