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Eating Well on a Budget Wellness Tips

How to Meal Plan on a Budget (part 2)

budget meal planning bulk shopping

 

Last week, I walked you through how I meal plan on a budget of $100 per week for a family of four. I’m going to walk you through my meal-planning process again, this time for a stock-up week. If you haven’t read that first post yet, start there, because I’m not going to explain each step this time. I am going to show you how I stay within budget, even when I need to stock up on more items than I did last week.

 

Besides the amount that I’m buying, the main difference between a “stock-up week” and a “top-off week” is that I make sure to go to a store with an excellently-priced bulk section (Winco) for a stock-up week. Buying items in bulk is not only cheaper, but more customizable, and prevents food and packaging waste. Buying food in bulk allows you to select the exact amount that you need, want, or can afford, and can help make staying within budget much easier. I’ll start with a quick walk-through of the meal-planning process, then I’ll show you how bulk buying makes my $100-per-week grocery budget possible.

 

save money bulk foods

 



 

So here we go! Follow along with my budget-conscious meal planning process this week:

 

Know your budget

If you read last week’s post, you’ll know that my grocery budget last week was $85 for a “top-off week.” Since this week is a stock-up week, my budget will be higher. Today I’m working with a budget of $115. That gets me to an average of…you guessed it! $100 per week.

Utilize food distribution programs, if you can find them.

 

This week, pickin’s were more slim, so I only ended up with a nice little green bell pepper and a bag of chips.

 



 

Shop Your Cupboards/Pantry/Fridge/Freezer

Here’s where I’m at this week:

Need to use up:

  • mozzarella cheese sticks
  • a few random Swiss cheese slices
  • leftover tomato sauce
  • lots of dinner leftovers – I won’t need to buy any lunch stuff for this week
  • salad
  • baby carrots & other snack veggies
  • deli meat

Available:

  • dried grains: pasta, rice, quinoa, oats
  • dried chili beans
  • trail mix
  • lots of canned goods
  • cheese
  • 1 gallon milk
  • potatoes, onions

 

Use a master list

For stock-up weeks, I use a “supermarket staples list” that I modified from a post on Pinterest.

 

meal p

 

This lists all of the things I like to always have in stock (plus a few that I rotate through, like snacks). On stock-up week, I skim through the list and go through my kitchen to make sure I don’t miss anything that we might need or might be out of. Add them to the list!

Take stock and decide what to make

Tonight is our monthly “family fun night,” where we go to a local restaurant/arcade and hang out, so that covers dinner. Since I need to use up tomato sauce and cheese sticks, I’ll make a family favorite – pizza rolls – that uses both of those. We haven’t had fish in a while, and Winco has some really affordable salmon, so I’ll grab some of that and we’ll have steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes with it. Thursday’s a busy evening so I’ll make that a crock pot meal. Maybe a pot roast with some of those baby carrots. Friday I know we will be at a high school football game, so we’ll probably snack at home beforehand and maybe grab some snacks at the game.

That’s okay to do, by the way, just in case any clean-eating policeman ever told you it wasn’t. 

Aaaand for breakfasts I’ll use that lunch meat and extra cheese to make some breakfast sandwiches.

 



 

Make your shopping list (include estimated prices)

After going through my stock-up list and the meals for the week, here’s what my list looks like:

 

affordable healthy food meal plan

 

Click here for a copy of this shopping list/meal planning template.

On a stock-up week, I try to leave a bit of budget room for whatever meat might be on sale that week. Sale meat at Winco can be a heck of a deal, so Winco trips are good opportunities to stock the freezer.

My estimated costs for this grocery trip were only $92.50, so I’ll add ~$23-25 worth of sale meat to the list. If we weren’t going to be eating out of our restaurant budget for two meals this week, I probably wouldn’t be able to do quite so much but in this case it worked out.

 

Shop!

As I was shopping, I had some extra room in the budget, so I tossed in an extra dessert and a few snack foods that I’ll save for next week. We have a part of our pantry where I save up food when I get a good deal or have extra room in the budget. That helps each week be a little easier budget-wise, since I’ve always got odds and ends saved up in there.

 

cheap healthy food for a family of four

 

Here’s my haul, for the grand total of $114.04! I love when it comes out so perfectly. 

If you haven’t already, go check out part 1 of meal planning on a budget – both posts are important to understand the whole picture! And stay tuned for more tips on eating well on a budget!

 

Related Articles

 

How to Meal Plan to Save Time and Money (with free printable meal planning template!)

The Must-Try Meal Planning Hack to Stop Wasting Money and Food

Streamline Your Healthy Life in just 20 Minutes per Week

 

 

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Eating Well in Less Time Wellness Tips

Food Prep: Streamline Your Healthy Life in Just 20 Minutes per Week

 

Have you ever watched a cooking show where they try to pass a delicious healthy recipe off as a “20-minute meal”? You get all excited, ready to take notes and make this healthy kitchen masterpiece a reality, until you notice that as they are cooking, somehow all of their vegetables are already magically diced, their meats trimmed and cut, and their herbs and spices pre-measured? And then – big surprise! – the whole dish is done in 20 minutes or less! All they had to do was dump this, brown that, stir this in, and the whole creation was complete.

If you’ve had this experience and you’re anything like me you feel lied to. This was not a 20-minute meal. This was a 20-minute meal preceded by 10-15 minutes of peeling, chopping, dicing, and measuring which, again, if you’re anything like me, is the least enjoyable part of cooking.

Many of my clients struggle with this – they buy fresh veggies with perfect intentions of using them. But after a long day the thought of all that prep before they even get to cooking sends them, defeated, to that bag of freezer ravioli (or the corner fast food joint) and their produce one day closer to the garbage.

 



 

So how can we bridge this gap? We want our food to be healthy, and we need it to be quick and easy. Can we have both?

My answer is pretty much, yes. I’m not going to lie to you and say it’s not going to take any time and I certainly can’t hire a magic kitchen for you like the Food Network hosts have, but I can share the trick that has helped make healthful cooking SO MUCH FASTER for me.

That “trick” is food prep. Food prep is different than meal prep, where you actually cook and portion out individual meals in ready-to-go containers. If you have sufficient time and don’t mind eating the same meal for a few meals, meal prep is a great option! If you like a little more variety or can’t spare an hour or more for meal prep each week, give food prep a try!

 



 

Basically, you are your own magic kitchen. When you bring your groceries home, set all your produce (and your meats, if you really want to go for the gold!) on the counter. Put everything else away.

Now you get out your cutting board and knives (once!), and some containers. Chop, slice, and dice your little heart out. It usually takes 10-20 minutes, depending on how many veggies are in the recipes you’re using that week. Put them in containers based on the recipe they’re for. If we are having burgers, I slice tomatoes and onions, lay out lettuce, and put a handful of sliced mushrooms on a plate. If we’re having stew, I cube potatoes, chop onions, and slice carrots and seal them in a container. Then you clean up your cutting boards and knives (once!) and you’re done chopping for the week.

Note: Make sure that if you trim and cut raw meats, you prep them after you’re done with all your produce and that you store them in separate containers if they are uncooked!

Aren’t they pretty?

Now, when it’s time to cook, you can pull your container out of the fridge, dump this, brown that, stir this in, and your healthful meal is ready to go – just like the cooking pros!

For a demonstration of food prep and a recommendation for one of my favorite food prep kitchen tools, click here!

Have you ever tried food prep? Do you like it? Hate it? Let me know in the comments!

 



 

Related Posts

 

How to Meal Plan to Save Time and Money (with FREE printable meal planning template)

One Tip and One Product to Make Living Well Quicker and Easier

Ready to Get Healthy? 5 Simple Steps to Set Yourself up for Success

 



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Food Trim Healthy Mama

Recipe Feature: Italian Meatball Casserole (low carb, Trim Healthy Mama S Meal)

These cheesy, saucy meatballs were like delicious little meatloaf bites. They paired superbly with a salad or green beans, and reheated well for lunches. My kids loved them too!

 

 

You can find the recipe for these meatballs on Briana Thomas’ blog. I topped them with my 5-minute heart healthy pizza sauce and it was delicious! Make them with lean meat and a light dusting of mozzarella cheese and you can improve the saturated fat content for heart health. They would be great with some whole grain spaghetti also. I hope you enjoy them too!

 

 



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Food Trim Healthy Mama

Trim Healthy Mama Week 3 Review

 

My three weeks on Trim Healthy Mama have finished and it was certainly a learning process! I wrapped up the whole experience with this tasty taco salad S meal at a friend’s taco birthday party.

 

 

The Good

 

The plan is cheaper overall than I anticipated – it only cost me extra the first week when I stocked up on some special ingredients.

I made two good baked things! If you’ve been following along, you know I’ve struggled to make edible baked goods on the Trim Healthy Mama Plan. I took a break from baking after a few flops my first week, but I got back to it this week. At first I had some duds – pumpkin chip breakfast cake was meh, and these lemon blueberry muffins (while pretty) were just not yummy.

 

 

The first delicious almond flour foods I made were these pizza puffs (for which I will soon provide you the recipe)! They were really tasty dipped into my 5-minute heart-healthy pizza sauce.

 

 



The second were these low-carb, gluten-free thin mint dupes from All Day I Dream About Food. The recipe was posted in a Trim Healthy Mama Facebook group and I had to give them a try. I thought they might be better than some of the other almond flour baked goods I’ve tried since the actual cookie part is so thin (and drenched in chocolate…kind of hard to go wrong with that!). They turned out so well! Yum!

 

 

The Bad

 

My primary nutrition concern with Trim Healthy Mama was my suspicion that it encouraged too much saturated fat intake, though I wanted to wait until the end of my three weeks to see how the actual numbers shook out. Excess saturated fat intake is associated with inflammation (which is linked to a myriad of health issues) and is typically found in solid animal-based fats. There is potential for excess saturated fat intake on the Trim Healthy Mama Plan, since the S meals often contain cheese, creamy sauces/dressings, and are cooked in butter. As yummy as stacking all those fatty goodies into one meal can be, from the get-go I have been concerned that the Trim Healthy Mama Plan would take this aspect a little too far.

To put numbers into the mix, my recommended daily saturated fat intake is 20 grams per day and while I was on the Trim Healthy Mama Plan, my daily average saturated fat intake was 31 grams. I have to say that I expected the average to be even higher than that, but regardless it is about 150% higher than current recommendations. Fortunately, the blood sugar regulation portion of the THM plan helps prevent inflammation, but the saturated fat aspect promotes it in another way. It would be best to reduce inflammation both through blood sugar regulation and moderation of saturated fat. If a client of mine is interested in following Trim Healthy Mama, I will encourage them to either limit S meals or to limit sources of saturated fats from S meals to prevent inflammation.



 

The Numbers

 

Recommendation Week #1 Week #2 Week #3
Weight change -1 lb  +.6 lb  0 lb
Body fat change -.3% 0%  -.4%
Waist change -1″ -.5″  0″
Avg. daily calorie intake 1700 1679  1557  1715
Avg. daily carb intake 170-200 g 120 g  135 g  135 g
Avg. daily protein intake 65-80 g 97 g  90 g  89 g
Avg. daily fat intake 40-55 g  81 g  75 g  85 g
Breakdown of meal types 10 S meals

10 E meals

 13 S meals

8 E meals (and lots of E snacks)

9 S meals

8 E meals

2 Crossover meals

# of cheats 0 3 (1 intentional, 2 accidental cheats with non-whole grain sourdough bread) 1 (intentional Valentine’s date cheat at Fujiyama’s – yummy!)  2 (both intentional, 1 burger/fries after a day of snowboarding and 1 tea party with my niece!)
 Grocery Cost  $100 (normal weekly grocery budget)  $125  $92 (yippee!)  $102

 

What I Learned

    • I do not like almond flour. I can’t help it. If I can taste the almond flour, there’s too much almond flour. Extracts and zests are helpful, but not enough to overcome the nasty that is almond flour in muffin form. I gleefully threw away the last little bit from the bottom of the bag this morning.
  • I can definitely get by with fewer carbohydrates than I tended to eat before I started this project. It’s a good reminder to not let taste overcome true hunger!



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Food Trim Healthy Mama

Trim Healthy Mama Week 2 Review

 

My second week of Trim Healthy Mama has passed and I have to say – it went much better for me than last week! I found my groove, took a break from baked goods, and added in S Helpers to prevent low blood sugar. These changes made quite a difference in my quality of life.

 

The Good

I picked up a few useful products this past week – Laughing Cow light cheese, low carb wraps, and sprouted whole grain bread – that made my life a bit easier. The cheese helped me create more savory E options, which I had struggled with during my first week on THM.

I’m not ready to say that I give up on baked goods (in fact I have an almond flour pumpkin chip cake in the oven – fingers crossed it’s edible!), but I kind of took a break from them this week. I really wanted to take this three weeks to play around with grain-free baking since THM requires it and doing so would bulk up my recipe stash for my gluten-free clients, but boy my first week was a crash and burn. I tried a couple of different almond flour recipes that were really flavorless, but powered through eating them so I wouldn’t waste anything. That burned me out a bit on my almond flour experimentation and I didn’t even bother with any of that this week. It made life easier. I have picked out a couple of recipes for my last week (armed with tips from THM groups online!) and I’m ready to try again.

S Helpers make me happy! I felt much better and had no trouble returning to my usual workouts and energy levels once I got just a teensy bit of carb added in to my S meals. It also made me much happier just to have the option to pick even one little portion of carb. Yay for fewer restrictions!

A very unexpected plus was that after I bought all of the expensive extra stuff the first week, my grocery budget actually dipped down a few dollars this week. Who would have thought?



 

The Bad

Honestly, with the exception of still needing a solution to grain-free baked bads (I’ve had more bads than goods so far), I don’t have too many problems to report this week. I have found ways to navigate some of the roadblocks I met with in the beginning, and my S Helpers have fixed my hanger (as in hangry) problem. Can’t complain too much!

 

The Numbers

S meals were definitely the favorite this week because S meal + S helper = happy me. I ended up eating mostly E snacks in between to keep my energy up. My average carb intake was higher (but not by a lot) and my average fat intake was lower (but not by a lot). Interestingly, I was much more satisfied with fewer calories this way, because carbohydrates addressed my blood sugar fluctuations and are also lower in calories than fat.

 

I gained half a pound this week – could be nothing at all (weight fluctuation is totally normal and need not cause frustration) – but it’s most likely increased water retention in my muscles. Last week I know my glycogen (glucose storage in my muscles) was low because my blood sugar was running low and I could feel the drag in my workouts. Glycogen and water are friends, so whenever your glycogen stores are full the glucose is often hanging out with a bit of water. Since my waist circumference decreased and body fat stayed the same this week, that is the most likely cause of that change.

 

Recommendation Week #1 Week #2 Week #3
Weight change -1 lb  +.6 lb
Body fat change -.3% 0%
Waist change -1″ -.5″
Avg. daily calorie intake 1700 1679  1557
Avg. daily carb intake 170-200 g 120 g  135 g
Avg. daily protein intake 65-80 g 97 g  90 g
Avg. daily fat intake 40-55 g  81 g  75 g
Breakdown of meal types 10 S meals, 10 E meals  13 S meals, 8 E meals (and lots of E snacks)
# of cheats 0 3 (1 intentional, 2 accidental cheats with non-whole grain sourdough bread) 1 (intentional Valentine’s date cheat at Fujiyama’s – yummy!)
 Grocery Cost  $100 (normal weekly grocery budget)  $125  $92 (yippee!)

 



What I learned

  • Protein is key for satisfaction (especially with E meals) – Do any of you ever know something, then for some reason knowing doesn’t help you actually put that knowledge into practice? No? Just me? Okay. See, I know very well that protein is satisfying, but I was really reminded of that when I ate an E meal without a sufficient amount of protein. My stomach was a-rumblin’ much sooner. This is exacerbated on Trim Healthy Mama because fat is also a satisfier, but E meals are low fat, so ya gotta have that protein.
  • For me, the “personal choice” products from the book are necessary – In the Trim Healthy Mama Plan book, the authors provide options for products that can make your life easier. They acknowledge that some food purists (those who like to make ev-er-y-thing from scratch) are not likely to want to use the products. I am not one of those people. I like to cook and I make a lot of things from scratch, but I’m in the middle of that spectrum, baby. I’ll take efficiency if you’ve got it.
  • I prefer to have my meals be S (with S helpers) and snacks be E – This combo keeps my energy (in the form of blood sugar) up throughout the day and gives me the greatest feeling of flexibility and choice.
  • Use spices, extracts, and zests to improve the flavor of baked goods – This was a tip from the THM boards I surveyed for help with my baked goods. I haven’t had the chance to test it yet but I’ll let you know after I pull that pumpkin cake out and sample it!

 



Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post and I have no affiliation with the producers or manufacturers of this product; however, as an Amazon Associate, I receive compensation for any purchases of products through the links on this post.

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Recipes Trim Healthy Mama

Recipe: Red Curry Soup (THM S Meal)

 

This soup is one of my favorite S meals I’ve eaten so far in the last 2 weeks. It pairs nicely with a little bit of brown rice for an S helper if needed. The cashews on top give it a perfect crunch!

 

If you prefer a slow cooker version, skip the coconut oil and add all ingredients (except basil and cashews) to a slow cooker and cook for 4.5 hours on high. Enjoy this warm, comforting soup around a warm, comforting table!

 



 

 

Red Curry Soup

This delicious low-carb soup has a little bit of crunch and a lot of flavor.

  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1" cubes)
  • 1 crown broccoli (cut into florets)
  • 2 carrots (sliced)
  • 1 onion (diced)
  • 1 medium zucchini (sliced)
  • 2 Tbsp red curry paste
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 2 (15 oz) cans coconut milk
  • 1 (15 oz) can low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 handful fresh basil leaves (chopped)
  • 1/4 cup unsalted cashews (for garnish)
  1. In a large pot, brown chicken cubes in coconut oil over medium heat.

  2. Add remaining ingredients, except basil and cashews. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil.

  3. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

  4. Add basil and cook for 5 more minutes.

  5. Serve in bowls with cashews on top.

Contains 294 calories, 21 g fat, 10 g carb, and 16.5 g protein per 2-cup serving.

 



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Food Trim Healthy Mama

What research has to say about the Trim Healthy Mama Plan

 

There are several foundational concepts behind the Trim Healthy Mama plan that are designed to improve health and help with weight management. As I mentioned in my intro post, for the most part these concepts line up with research and make practical sense. There are some aspects of the plan that don’t, and I’ll explain some of them below. Here’s your chance to get the overview of what research has to say about the basics of the Trim Healthy Mama Plan.

 

Moderation

 

Age-old and still good, the advice to eat in moderation is always relevant. By including protein at each meal and limiting carbohydrate portions, the Trim Healthy Mama Plan does a great job of preventing carbohydrate overeating. Overeating carbohydrates leads to storage of extra blood sugar as fat and can also increase inflammation, so regulating blood sugar by moderating carbohydrate intake can be key to weight loss or maintenance.

The weakness I see in this area is with fat moderation. The authors do repeatedly mention the importance of not abusing fat intake, but there is no official limit on fat intake for S meals. This might make it tricky for some to keep fat intake in check (my fat intake was quite high during my first week). Since fat is very calorie dense, it’s possible this could interfere with weight loss or weight maintenance goals. Fortunately fat is filling, so that does help promote natural moderation of fat intake, but keep in mind that the desires of our tastebuds can easily override that moderation if we aren’t careful. Fat is awfully tasty!

 



 

Glycemic Index

 

Besides limiting portions of carbohydrates, the Trim Healthy Mama Plan is designed to manage blood sugar (and thus weight and inflammation) by limiting carbohydrate options to those that raise blood sugar more slowly and gradually. This is quantified using a tool called the glycemic index. Foods with a low glycemic index raise blood sugar slowly, while foods with a high glycemic index raise blood sugar rapidly. For example, barley (allowed on the THM plan) has a glycemic index of 25, while white rice (not allowed on the THM plan) has a glycemic index of 72.1 This is generally a good way to choose healthful carbohydrates and as a bonus, it typically increases fiber intake since high-fiber carbohydrates tend to have lower glycemic indices.

Researchers have since taken this concept a step further to include not only how rapidly a food raises blood sugar, but also the actual amount of carbohydrates in a standard portion of the food.2 This helps differentiate between foods that contain only a few carbohydrates (like watermelon, which has a high glycemic index but contains so few carbohydrates that it barely affects blood sugar), and those that have more carbohydrates and send them in quickly (like sweet potatoes). This new measure is called glycemic load, and it is a more complete representation of how a food actually affects blood sugar.1 A glycemic load of less than 10 is considered low and a glycemic load of greater than 20 is considered high.

Taking glycemic load into account places some not-on-plan foods like whole wheat bread (which has a glycemic load of 9) and whole wheat tortillas (glycemic load = 8) into a much more favorable position as blood sugar regulators. They fall well below some on-plan foods like sweet potatoes (glycemic load = 22). Utilizing glycemic load rather than glycemic index would allow quite a few more foods and make the THM plan less restrictive while better honoring the spirit of managing and regulating blood sugar. My personal philosophy is always to help clients find the plan that is the least restrictive way to achieve their goals – it makes food more fun!



 

Fuel Isolation

 

The authors of THM also encourage that for weight loss or maintenance, you should focus on only one fuel (fat or carbohydrate) per meal. The reason for this is that our bodies prioritize the use of carbohydrate fuels over fat fuels, and will burn blood sugar before using fat. The authors state that by restricting fuels to one at a time, you can ensure that all fuels (including fats) are fully burned before eating the next meal.

This is true as long as the total amount of fuel eaten still matches one’s energy needs in that window. For (an overly simplified) example, if someone ate a meal that contained 450 calories for lunch, and they used 500 calories before they ate again at dinner time, they will have burned all of the 450 calories they ate at lunch (first the energy from carbohydrates, then from fat) and tap into their fat stores to make up the last 50. On the other hand, if they ate a 700-calorie lunch and then only needed 500 calories, they would burn through those 500 (first from carbohydrates, then fat if carbohydrates ran low) then end up storing the extra 200 as body fat. Like I said, this is overly simplified for explanation’s sake and there’s a lot of physiology missing here, but it gives you a rough idea.

To bring this back to the THM concept, restricting fuels to either carbohydrate or fat is one practical way to moderate intakes overall, though it certainly is not the only way and it also doesn’t guarantee that the total amount of energy eaten would match energy needs. The key is whether or not the structure of THM makes it easier for you personally to moderate. For some personalities, the structure of S and E meals makes moderation much more clear and easy to follow. If you prefer or it makes more sense to you, you can balance fuels at each meal with moderated portions of carbohydrates, proteins, and fat as long as the total amount of energy you eat matches the total amount of energy you need (or a little less if you’re trying to lose weight).

 

The Verdict

 

Overall, Trim Healthy Mama provides a structure for moderation that is mostly based on valid concepts and is likely to generate weight loss (if desired). It will also direct your eating to healthier pastures, as it eliminates quite a bit of junk food, empty calories, and inflammatory foods. Basically, if this plan works for your personality and lifestyle, go for it! It is more restrictive than is necessary for health and weight management, but keep in mind that your lifestyle is your own – so you can choose parts of the plan that work for you and parts that don’t! In fact, many of the blog articles I have read about THM say that their writers follow “a version of ” THM. Good for them! They made it their own, and finding a plan that works for your life is just as important as finding one that works for your body.

 

  1. https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/glycemic-index-and-glycemic-load-for-100-foods
  2. https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/76/1/5/4689459

 



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Down Home Dietitian

Diet culture is determined to tell you that you have to be miserable to be healthy.

That couldn’t be more wrong.

Subscribe to learn how to go from a frustrated, restricted dieter to a happy, relaxed relationship with food and fitness. Healthy doesn’t have to be hard!

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beckiparsons.rd.ep

I am OVER confusing advice, disgusting diets, and boring exercise.
Healthy doesn't have to be hard!
➢ Registered Dietitian
➢ Exercise Physiologist

Functional Dietitian | Exercise Physiologist | Speaker
Can’t see a difference? Neither can I. Because Can’t see a difference? Neither can I.

Because it’s only been 1 month.

Since my back surgery I’m focusing on form and the safety and longevity of my body rather than progress for progress’ sake.

Some important things to know:

🧠The first 6 weeks of any new workout program yield mostly neural changes - your brain is building pathways to your muscle fibers.

💪After the pathways are built, you’ll start to see more noticeable changes in your muscles.

😬 Got a guess at the average quit time on new workout programs?

😩 4-6 weeks…just before visible changes really kick in.

My point? KEEP AT IT. Be patient. 

If you started a new exercise plan for the new year, beat the 4-6 week quit time. Expect results for fat loss or muscle gain in months, not weeks.

Set yourself up for success and find your non-scale motivators.

👍 Follow my account to see my 6-week+ pictures, because we’ll be able to see it, with patience and persistent consistency.

We got this. 😉💪

#workoutmotivation #exercise #strengthtraining #bodyweight #weightloss #loseweight #progressphotos #sciatica #microdiscectomy #persistentconsistency #herniateddisc #lowbackpain #bodyweightworkouts #patience #fatloss #musclegain #bepatientwithyourself
I’m here to get my clients un-stuck. Being heal I’m here to get my clients un-stuck.

Being healthy is not always easy, but it shouldn’t have to be so hard either. It gets hard if:

❌ Your body doesn’t digest, absorb, or metabolize properly

❌ Your hormones are out of whack

❌ Your metabolism is totally freaked out

❌ There’s so much information you’re totally confused about what to do with food and fitness

❌ You struggle to fit healthy habits into your busy lifestyle

The good news?

Any and all of that can be addressed.

✅ Functional testing to ensure your body is working properly (and holistic integrative fixes to get you back to 100% function ASAP)

✅ Clear-the-air classes to show you what is worth your focus and what you can stop stressing about

✅ 1:1 coaching to tailor healthy habits to your lifestyle, preferences, family, and budget

DM me or drop a “Me!” in the comments if you’re ready to experience healthy that isn’t so freakin’ hard. 😘

#dietitian #weightloss #healthylifestyle #functionalnutrition #functionalmedicine #integrativemedicine #healthyeating #eathealthy #dietitian #wellnesscoach #healthcoach #nutritionist #bariatric #vsg #wls #wlsjourney #bariatricsurgery #type2diabetes #guthealth #hormonehealth #pcos #sustainablewellness #healthynothard #fitness #workout #exercise
Stop shaming people for enjoying their food! Eat Stop shaming people for enjoying their food!

Eat the things that bring you joy.

Make healthy changes elsewhere.

Support your soul foods with foods that nourish your body.

Like and follow to see the whole Nutrition Gatekeeper series!

#emptycalories #enjoyyourfood #nutrition #gatekeepers #nofoodshame #thingsnuteitiongatekeeperssay
And there are dozens more… Brain fog, sleeping And there are dozens more…

Brain fog, sleeping too much, not sleeping enough, digestive issues, slow healing, worsened depression and anxiety…

Basically, if your body isn’t getting the nutrients it needs, anything else in the body can go wrong.

I share this for anyone who is considering a low-calorie, high-exercise life in the next couple of weeks.

DON’T MAKE IT SO HARD!

Not only is that a miserable existence, you’re actually leading your body into a slower metabolism, totally freaking it out, and teaching it how to store fat better in the future.

Instead, if you want to lose fat, try:

✨ Increasing the amount of fruits and veggies you eat by adding 1/2-1 c at each meal. They take up a lot of space for not a lot of calories, so if you stop eating at the same fullness level you’ll end up with slightly fewer calories overall.

✨ Taking a short walk (or other movement you enjoy) for 10-15 minutes a few times a week to start. Work that up to 20-30 minutes after you establish the habit.

✨ Be patient. Losing fat and keeping it off is not a quick business…it’s a slow and steady vibe. Doing it in a way that supports your metabolism will leave you FAR healthier in 6 months than a quick fix now that drops 30 lbs, lowers your metabolism, and causes you to gain it all back.

Trust the process. 😌

Like and share to your story to keep your friends from a molasses-in-January metabolism this New Year!

#weightloss #diet #fatloss #healthcoach #dietitian #metabolism #slowmetabolism #fastmetabolism #metabolichealth #sustainablewellness
I don’t hand out fish around here. 🐟 I pass o I don’t hand out fish around here. 🐟 I pass out fishing rods and teach you to use them. 🎣

For me as a coach, I haven’t done my job just because you met a health goal.

🌟I’ve done my job if you understand how you met it. 
🌟 If you have the skills to continue the habits that got you there. 
🌟  If you can look critically at unhealthy info and recognize why it won’t serve you.
🌟 If you can keep perspective when things seem to be moving more slowly than you’d like.
🌟 If you can give yourself grace and do your best when life gets rocky instead of giving up and calling yourself a failure.
🌟 If you can recognize the value of nourishing and listening to your body rather than manhandling it in to submission.

That’s when I’ve done my job.

#wellnesscoach #dietitian #registereddietitian #nutritionist #fitness #healthcoach #exercise #mindfuleating #healthcoaching #sustainablewellness
Liz came to me looking for help with PCOS and horm Liz came to me looking for help with PCOS and hormone regulation to start her family. 

She now has a healthy 2-year-old and is rockin’ it with regular exercise, much improved blood sugar, and a low-pressure relationship with food.

Check out her story!

#testimonial #clientjourney #pcos #hormones #hormonehealth #hormoneregulation #insulinresistance #fertility #womenshealth #infertilitysupport
🥛All dairy is NOT inflammatory! Truth bombs: 🥛All dairy is NOT inflammatory!

Truth bombs:

💥Dairy will be inflammatory to you if you have a sensitivity, intolerance, or allergy to it.

💥 The type of fat that naturally occurs in dairy (saturated fat) is inflammatory and is linked with worse outcomes in inflammatory conditions like diabetes and dementia.

👍 Dairy is an awesome source of protein and our most concentrated source of calcium.

👍 Be aware of your overall saturated fat intake and do the dairy limbo - go as low-fat as you can go and still enjoy it!

👍 If you’re symptomatic with dairy or feel it is causing inflammation, get tested for lactose intolerance, dairy allergy, and intestinal damage/inflammation.

#inflammation #dairy #gotmilk #calcium #saturatedfat #antiinflammatory #nutrition #gatekeepers #thingsnutritiongatekeeperssay #diet #dietitian #nutritionist
💫 Share this one ALL DAY LONG!! 💫 The jour 💫 Share this one ALL DAY LONG!! 💫 

The journey to healthy is NEVER a straight shot but if we could cut down on the detours into Dietlandia THAT’D BE GREAT.

Share to help your friends and family save some time, suffering, and let’s just say, digestive disturbances. 😉😘

#dontdiet #sustainablewellness #fitness #strengthtraining #health #newyearsresolutions #getfit #losingweight #weightloss #healthynotskinny #dietitian #nutrition #persistentconsistency
Save this post!! Hormones basically control every Save this post!!

Hormones basically control everything in your body. When they get wonky, all kinds of things can go wrong.

If you’re suffering from any of these symptoms, know that it isn’t “normal,” and that you don’t have to live with it! Try this:

☑️ Make sure that you move AND rest regularly. Six days a week of high-intensity exercise is too much for your adrenal system. Sorry, not sorry. Switch it up for lower intensity exercise like yoga, Pilates, or muscular endurance strength training a couple days a week.

☑️ Incorporate as many different plant foods as you can throughout the day…it’s easier than you think. One smoothie or oatmeal with fruits, seeds, and almond or peanut butter can easily have 8 or more plant foods in it. Add a salad, mixed veggies, or a veggie soup at some point and you’ve got another five.

☑️ Have a cortisol reduction plan. This means regular activities you do to blow off steam and relax. From nature walks to reading, from deep breathing to journaling, from meditative martial arts to music, there’s something for everyone. Find your things and plan to do them regularly.

☑️ Eat at least one fat source at every meal: nuts (PB and AB count!), seeds, avocado, fish, meat, dairy, or oils.

☑️ Eat enough. This is tough to make a blanket statement for, as everyone’s needs are different. But if you’re worn down and things in your body don’t seem to be working properly, you are likely undereating. Find a dietitian to help you dial in if you aren’t sure.

If implementing these hormone health strategies doesn’t help, dig deeper. Find a functional doctor or dietitian who can run some hormone testing and get to the root of the problem. Sometimes it takes more than lifestyle changes to solve.

Save this post and come back to it.
Share it with someone you know who is suffering these symptoms.

#hormones #hormonehealth #functionaldietitian #hairloss #health #pcos #adrenalhealth #cortisol #wellness #exercise #fitness #restday #insomnia #pms #painfulperiods #periodsymptoms #dietitian #nutritionist #nutrition #symptomfree
Share this post with your workout buddy...or tag s Share this post with your workout buddy...or tag someone to ask them to BE your workout buddy!

The secret to improving your health is persistent consistency.

No hack,
no cleanse,
no diet,
no supplement,
no tonic,
no juice...

Persistent consistency with:
Mindful fueling.
Regular movement.
Hydration.
Sleep.
And having an exercise buddy doesn't hurt!

Share this with your gym buddy to let them know you appreciate them! 😉
Tag someone you would LIKE to be your workout buddy! 💪

#fitness #gymbuddy #workoutmotivation #accountability #health #healthy #exercise #mindfuleating #nutrition #dietitian #trainer #personaltrainer #exercisephysiologist #persistentconsistency #running #weightlifting #cardio #strengthtraining #gymrat #sustainablewellness #registereddietitian #nutritionist #fuel #friends
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