The Green Door Life

Happy Friday, Lisa! Are you ready for a little self-care and rest this weekend? We invite you to take a moment and follow along a couple of our Pilates exercise videos that will be featured soon in our training app!

Pilates, a form of strengthening the body’s core through stretching, exercise, and muscle activation, is near and dear to Green Door Life co-founder and visionary, Shannon Morse, as it launched her career into the fitness industry. After suffering from a neck injury nearly two decades ago, Shannon began rehabbing with Pilates and quickly realized the benefits of this practice. With a focus on breath and mind-muscle connection, these movements are surprisingly challenging and effective. 

Whether you're looking for the perfect gift or want to know our favorite on-the-go snacks, check out our Amazon page for products that we love and live by without having to test them out for quality control. From protein bars to...

"OK, but how do I cook my favorite recipes without blowing my macros?"

- every client, ever.

We love this question because our answer is simple and it's the same every time:

take your favorite recipe and tweak it!

For example, do you love spaghetti and meatballs but don't love the 40+ grams of carbs that it tacks onto your meal? Try a smaller serving size of spaghetti, add in zucchini noodles to increase volume and sneak in a veggie, and use ground bison instead of ground beef for meatballs. The difference in macros and calories is significant:

And this is exactly why we teach the fundamentals of nutrition science, so you can find out what's really in your food instead of blindly following the latest fad diet or cutting out an entire food group. 

So, what's your favorite recipe? Think of your favorite comfort foods and holiday treats... how can you give them an upgrade? Hit reply to this email and let us know what you've come up with, or if you want help brainstorming how to...

We invite you to close your eyes and visualize your typical holiday season. Is it full of joy, nostalgia, tradition, and rejuvenation? Or do you anticipate stress, pressure, shortage of resources, and forced social interactions? Most of us will fall somewhere along the continuum, but no matter where we stand, we can get the most out of the holidays when setting an intention before they begin. Take a moment to get grounded with us in this meditation that you can practice daily throughout the next few months and beyond:

Now that we've got you in a Zen state, you're ready to take on the day! Here's a snapshot of this week's spotlight workout that stimulates not only muscle growth but will have you breathing heavy after the first round. Many of our customized programs feature three back-to-back super sets to maximize your lean muscle development while burning 100's of calories during and after your workout.

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And on that note, we're off to the gym!

Our favorite aspect of coaching is not necessarily the weight loss that inevitably ensues, but rather the absolute shattering of old beliefs that no longer serve our clients. We're not interested in finding you a quick fix only to have you return to old habits.

Our goal is to help you redefine your idea of diet, exercise, and health just like 30-year old nurse Sydney describes in the following interview. Besides losing 30 pounds, Sydney shares several non-scale victories, like more energy and structure to support her long work days.

Are you following us on Instagram? If so, stay tuned for snippets of our app workouts that will be included regularly, like this super set that takes advantage of PHA, or peripheral heart action training: 

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This type of training intentionally alternates between a lower body strength exercise to an upper body strength exercise with little to no rest in between to elicit a cardiovascular response while you're lifting weights....

As coaches we hear this often and at one time or another we can all relate to that feeling of total burnout. When work-life balance is anything but just that...Balanced! 

Huong came to us with that feeling and was ready to try one more thing. This mother and businesswoman put in the time and recently completed our 12 Week Nutrition Program. Along with her amazing transformation pictures she had this to share: 

“Several months ago I came across a friend's IG story about the progress she was making with a program called The Green Door Life. I reached out to find out more about what and why she was doing the program. I remember her telling me that she was sick and tired of being sick and tired all the time. That really resonated with me because that was how I was feeling. The last time that I felt most controlled and comfortable in my own skin was over a decade ago. Life happened as it usually does and my fitness was one of the first things I didn't prioritize."

"I set...

IT'S A COLLABORATION CELEBRATION

Today marks our official [launch] birthday, and as friends of The Green Door Life, we want to keep you in the loop! 

Although some of you have been following our story on social media, we’ll start from the beginning for those of you who know us, Shannon Morse and Lisa Kirby, solely in the capacity as Diet Doc Lifestyle nutrition coaches. We have spent the last year conceptualizing, planning, and executing a dream to expand on our current offerings.

So, what is The Green Door Life all about?

Why: our purpose is to empower individuals with the knowledge of how to nourish their mind, body, and soul.

What: our vision is to cultivate a community (both digital and in real life) of like-minded individuals living the best versions of themselves.

How: our mission is to deliver this knowledge through online courses, apps, workshops, and...

When we focus on something as intimate as our relationship with our bodies, it opens a space for deeper growth and an unraveling of self-limiting beliefs. Welcome to The Green Door Life... where infinite possibilities exist; where you can be vulnerable, authentic, and inspired.

Through nutrition, self-awareness, and movement education, we are growing a community of like-minded humans who are fully stepping into their health and vitality.

As nutrition and movement guides, we don’t stop at a number on the scale or a PR at the gym. We are interested in digging deeper - into the “why” behind our wants and cravings - so that you can move into your power and feel GOOD. We invite you transform beyond that which is, for a lifetime.

To write about Marrakesh feels a little like writing about the Universe, a vast body of space and time that will never fully be explored in all of its facets. So, the best I can do is share from what really stood out for both Jeff and myself and which we feel will be lifetime memories.

Marrakech and the promise of exotic spices and cuisines called to me. The cuisine that has evolved in Morocco has many influences as it was a trading post which invited the likes of the French, Moorish and Roman, to pass through its borders. It’s fitting to start this post with Jamaa el Fna, the most prominent Medina. The Medina’s and Souks of Marrakech are most popularly known for their spices shaped in deep earth tone cone formations. I had no idea what to expect apart from this promise. As we walked into the mouth of the beast, we were greeted and tempted with snakes, elaborately displayed fruits, henna tattoos and the entry to the Medina maze.

I quickly learned that photos taken of...

I knew that Spain would provide its fair share of nutritional challenges. Clients and friends had said that Spain was all meat, pasta, cheese and bread. This is not entirely true. It’s similar to if you are thinking about the color red, you will see red everywhere..... if you are thinking about meat, pasta and cheese, you will see it everywhere in Barcelona. That doesn’t mean that Barcelona doesn’t have vegetable options.....it does. It just requires a little extra navigating and specifications when ordering.

ORDERING IN BARCELONA

There are certainly questions to ask when ordering. Most menus won’t explain what is actually in that “salad”, pasta or meat dish. These lessons we learned the hard way served as a heaping “salad” of mayo and tuna which they call a Russian salad and a pasta with mushrooms that had more cream than I have had at one sitting in my entire life. Evidently they haven’t gotten the memo just yet about menu and...

I am all about getting creative with workouts with what is available. Some hotel gyms will be stocked to the nines with all of the free weights and machines. Some, however, will not. So we improvise! This is a little cable workout which incorporates multiple muscle groups in each movement to improve heart rate, metabolic function and muscle recruitment.

Try 4 sets of 8-15 reps of each. This workout may not make you sore, but it will leave all of your muscle feeling awake and ready to take on the travel day!

Weights will vary depending on your body weight and strength. Start easy and work your way up with each set.

STANDING CABLE ROTATION

Set your feet a little wider that hip distance apart. Engage your booty, shoulders and core. The goal with this exercise is to keep your hips absolutely stable and your arm locked out. The only movement should come from the rotation. Of the rib cage caused by your internal and external obliques doing their work. Breath helps a ton with this...