The Green Door Life

[TLDR: scroll down for new announcements!]

Test, if you've been following us long enough, you know that we're not big on new year's resolutions. Even if they're made with great intentions, they usually fall flat in terms of execution and true transformation.

Why is that?

James Clear, author of one of our favorite books, Atomic Habits, shares that up to 92% of resolutions fail due to the following reasons:

• Trying to change everything all at once
• Starting with something too big
• Focusing too much on a result or outcome instead of a ritual or process
• Not changing your environment
• Assuming small changes don't add up

And here are the solutions that he recommends:

• Pick one thing and do it well (especially if it's a keystone habit - one that positively impacts every area of your life, like balancing your nutritional intake!)
• Start with a small behavioral change that is so easy it's impossible to say no (ex: start with reading one...

All great performers, athletes, leaders, entrepreneurs and visionaries understand the power of their thoughts, feelings, and visualizations.

They know that what they think and how they feel impact not only their day-to-day reality but also the achievement of their long-term goals and lifestyle.

How can you harness the techniques of these pros to bring more abundance, health and happiness into your own life?

How can you embody and visualize the life you want before it even happens?

How can you drop importance and attachment to what you want while still practicing the emotional feeling of having it, which magnetizes the experience into your life?

That's exactly why we're hosting a workshop tonight at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time to answer these questions!

Test, if you feel called to take ownership of how your life is playing out and/or want to learn how to attract more of what you want (and less of what you don't), then this free virtual workshop is for...

Let's face it, the winter season for many turns into one run-on event after another from holiday parties to traditional family dinners. And more than ever, we're hearing from clients that it feels nearly impossible to drop the glass (or bottle) of red wine.

If you've been working with us for some time, you know that we are all about bringing awareness into every situation, not eating or drinking anything you don't truly want to, and making an informed full body "hell yes" otherwise, it's a no. Sometimes that means no alcohol and sometimes that means choosing the time, place, set, and setting for a ritual elixir.

So how do we personally find balance? You may think that as nutrition coaches, we don't enjoy any desserts, alcohol or other "treats", but that actually couldn't be further from the truth! Our members know that pizza is a regular weekly staple, for example, and continue to bust myths about what it means to eat healthy and balanced.

Learning the true nutrition...

We're going to let you in on one of the biggest "secrets" that industry experts know when it comes to overall health and a strong, lean physique: you must balance these two "tier 1" hormones, cortisol and insulin.

While cortisol is produced in your adrenal glands and insulin is produced in your pancreas, both glands are controlled by the master pituitary gland.

So why is this important?

Let's say you eat "clean", mostly unprocessed foods, organic, non-GMO, as close to nature as possible, super balanced at each meal (i.e. your carb intake is not excessive at any given time and you're not over-consuming alcohol)...

Even with all that in place, if you are experiencing chronic stress from living through unhealed trauma, a soul-sucking job, fear of catching something, or because your basic needs aren't being met, your sympathetic nervous system is constantly activated and you will see not only negative impacts on your...

Sometimes we feel like we're on a lonely island out there encouraging people to eat food in a world that promotes skipping meals and cutting out entire macronutrient groups, like carbs. While the nutrition fads come and go, the end result remains the same: it gets people to eat less.

But is eating less really the solution?

We say, NO.

In fact, almost every new client who is struggling and signs up for our program practices this common behavior: skipping breakfast. And possibly other meals.

Some people have had success with fasting. Good for them!

Most people we meet are stressed to the max. Skipping breakfast and going over four hours in between meals is only adding to that stress, which has a reverse impact on overall health and eating habits.

You know why it can feel good skipping meals? Because your cortisol starts ramping up and your adrenaline goes into overdrive. Your body is literally giving you more energy to go look for food. No joke.

So...

Macronutrient Break Down (serves 2)

Carbs: 28g

Fat: 8.6g

Protein: 32g

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup  Low Fat Cottage Cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 Cup Liquid Egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan Sea Salt 
• Add Cinnamon to the batter to help stabilize blood sugar levels

• Maple syrup, jam, or sliced berries, for serving

Instructions:

1. Place the whole rolled oats, cottage cheese, eggs, and salt in a blender and process on high speed until well-combined, about 30 seconds.
2. Heat a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Working in batches, add the batter in 2-tablespoon portions, spacing them evenly apart. Cook until the pancakes are set around the edges and deep golden-brown on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes (this batter won’t bubble up like traditional pancake batter). Gently flip the pancakes with a thin spatula and cook until the second side is golden-brown, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a plate
3. Repeat cooking the remaining batter....

there is a bell curve of effectiveness to everything, and it’s no different when it comes to nutrition and training.

Regarding nutrition:

too little calories especially that of quality, nourishing food is problematic

too many calories especially that of processed food stores excess body fat while the body is technically malnourished

And the same goes for working out:

too much exercise, especially cardio, can throw the body into chronic inflammation, stress, & muscle catabolism

too little exercise can lead to poor metabolic health and early onset sarcopenia (muscle atrophy)

Most clients we work with are eating too little of the right macronutrients and quality of food while over-exercising with a type of training that does not match their primary goals.

In short, more is not always better.

Getting intentional about what you’re consuming in all areas and how you are moving is key for a low stress, healthy, happy body.

We start with food because it’s the...

If you've been following us for some time, you may have heard us talk about N.E.A.T., or non-exercise activity thermogenesis.

Why are we bringing this up now?

N.E.A.T. is essentially all the movement that you perform in a day outside of your dedicated exercise routine. 

This includes activities like gardening, walking up and down your stairs, cooking, cleaning, bending over to pick things up, walking from your car to the store, playing with your kids, walking your dog, etc.

And, N.E.A.T. is one of the first things to wane as we head into the cold season.

It's not surprising to know that for most modern humans working desk jobs, N.E.A.T. is already on the lower side anyway since we've outsourced so many basic human needs that originally required a hefty amount of movement (and thus, calorie burn). 

But even if you're intentionally active and walk / move often, it's likely that your N.E.A.T decreases as the seasons change and colder weather ensues.

One...

We get this question a lot, Test: is cardio better before or after weights?

Nutrition and exercise go hand in hand when it comes to supporting a healthy physique (which, by the way, looks different on everyBODY).

This small change (knowing when, what type, and how much cardio to do) can have a HUGE impact on your muscle growth and recovery if you’ve been doing it the other way for a while.

Drum roll please....

Is this surprising to you?

We can't tell you how many clients we've worked with who have pushed themselves so hard with cardio before picking up weights and wonder why they can't get past using 10-pound dumbbells.

Understanding your physiology will give you the answer as to why this is not a good idea!

Here's why:

In other words: if you do a cardio session that lasts over 10 minutes before lifting weights, you're likely going to burn through / use up any glucose floating in your bloodstream and/or potentially even glycogen stored in your muscle cells...