Personal Blog

  • KETO, Personal Blog, WEIGHT LOSS

    Eating 1200 Calories and NOT Losing Weight? Here’s Why.

    Still eating 1200 Calories and not losing weight? Read on to learn why.

    eating 1200 calories and not losing weight

    If you are eating 1200 calories and not losing weight, I understand why you are frustrated. You’ve probably been told that eating 1200 calories and not losing weight is not possible– you must be doing something wrong. You’ve probably told yourself you need to add more cardio. You’ve probably thought about even cutting those calories lower- am I right?  DON’T! If you are eating 1200 calories and not losing weight, there is a reason! Based on what I’ve learned, 1200 calories is TYPICALLY too low for most women ESPECIALLY if you are working out in addition to eating 1200 calories. Where this idea came from about the 1200 calorie a day diet I don’t know- but use this blog post as your red flag. The reason you are eating 1200 calories and not losing weight is because you are likely undereating and overtraining like I did for years — you PROBABLY. need to slowly up your calories through a reverse diet (I suggest you do this through a qualified trainer….I recommend Alex Mazzurco who I used– you can inquire with her here) and heal your body. You’ll be surprised how your body will recover and rebound when it is FUELED!! We’ll get into that later in this post. Just know that LIKE YOU– I too was once eating 1200 calories and not losing weight. I too was frustrated and angry. But I learned why it wasn’t working. In this post I’ll share what I’ve learned has worked and how I have now transformed my body at age 52 and recently lost 24 inches and 18+ pounds and am still losing and will likely hit. my goal weight of 138 in the next month or so! EASILY– the way it should be. Weight loss should be a death sentence and 1200 calories a day is close to it. Let’s dive in and learn why 1200 calorie a day diets are not a good idea anymore, shall we? 

    1200 Calorie Diet

    Why you are eating 1200 calories and not losing weight.

    Before we go any further, I want to say that I’m writing this post from MY EXPERIENCE. Everything here is written in my OPINION. I’m not writing this as if this is in medical journal– this is my opinion based on a lot of reading and data and information from trainers and doctors– so you do with it what you will, my goal is always to help you make better informed decisions, not to suggest that I am the only right perspective out there. 

    The reason you are (probably) eating 1200 calories and not losing weight is– if you are like I was for years– you are probably UNDEREATING (1200 calories is incredibly low, that’s the lowest anyone should go for daily caloric intake) and OVERTRAINING. 

    If you are exercising daily 4-6x a week and burning even 200-250 calories, you are overdoing it and your body is in WTH mode. 

    Whether you call it “starvation mode” or cortisol-is-getting-jacked-up mode or whatever, things are NOT GOOD. Your body is not being taken care of…..and ultimately, IT WILL FIGHT YOU BACK. 

    You’ll start to gain weight around your middle. That’s the cortisol/stress reaction. It happened to me. Your body and your mind are STRESSED THE HELL OUT that you are so active and UNDERFED and then — you are probably wigging out every day WORRYING ABOUT YOUR WEIGHT– so you are adding extra anxiety– and THAT is affecting your cortisol. This becomes a hurricane of bad hormonal activity underneath the skin. 

    If you add in anything else like taking antibiotics, birth control pills, anti-depressants, or any other kinds of prescribed drugs….that plus any kinds of fake foods with bad chemicals…..that plus all the lovely environmental factors affecting our hormones….you’ve got a tsunami of madness going on preventing your body from performing as it should. 

    Crazy right? IT ALL ADDS UP. But see, this is the BIG PICTURE stuff that we all don’t think about — for years I ONLY thought about my workouts and my calories. 

    It took me years to understand the “bigger picture” part of things…..how much my anxiety and my STRESSING OUT ABOUT MY BODY and losing weight was ADDING TO THE PROBLEM and jacking up my cortisol and messing up my hormones. I didn’t realize that because I was on The Pill and Spironolactone, my testosterone was suppressed and that was making it very hard to lose fat. I didn’t know that all the antibiotics I was on were creating a nightmare in my gut. I didn’t realize that 2 hours of training a day was overtraining. I didn’t realize how much of a binge eater I had become. I didn’t realize a LOT. I hope that by sharing here– I help a lot of YOU wake up. The more we talk about these things the more we can get past them. 

    The bottom line is this– starving ourselves or close to it and overtraining and being obsessive about our weight loss is a road to destroying our health. I was DESTRUCTIVE to my body for years and had to UNDO a lot…..I want to SAVE YOU TIME!! Don’t make the mistakes I did! Stop eating too little! Eat more! Lift heavy- focus on rest and recovery and self-care…..you’d be amazed what that will do for you. 

    In my future blog posts, I will go into greater detail on what that looks like. In other words– how do we get away from this diet culture that’s been around for decades of 1200 calorie diets (there is nothing wrong with a diet ok??) and get to a place where we respect and understand our bodies more and give ourselves more GRACE and TIME and understanding and stop the whole COMPARISON thing…..these are all lessons I have learned and practices I’ve adapted that have helped me tremendously in my “new” life. 

    I’m not the overwhelmingly insecure woman I was 3 years ago. I’m happy to share how I got here. So be sure you are subscribed– I’d love to take you with me. 

    Tell me where you are right now– are you currently dieting and eating a really calorically LOW diet? Does it freak you out the idea of a reverse diet and healing? Or do you know that’s what you need? What questions can I answer? Let’s stop treating ourselves like crap and running ourselves in the ground all for the sake of losing weight. Fitness is supposed to be FUN. I’m losing weight now and — I’m eating foods I LOVE, enjoying adult beverages, working out actually less than ever, loving my life and feeling GREAT..this is how it should be!! No more feeling dead to the world and stressed out all the time! Cheers to that!!! 

    1200 Calories Meal Plan

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    But Wait There's MORE!

    BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE

    If you enjoyed this post — it’s highly likely you’ll want to check out these ones as well. I recommend the following: Why I Said NO to the 75 Hard Challenge: CLICK HERE. And How to Lose Weight After Age 40 CLICK HERE. And My KETO Transformation CLICK HERE. See you soon! 

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  • Fitness, Personal Blog, WEIGHT LOSS

    Losing Weight After 50: It’s NOT Impossible.

    Is Losing Weight After 50 Possible?

    If you are struggling with losing weight after 50, you aren’t alone. Heck, most women are struggling to lose weight after 40, and it can just get harder after that. Losing weight after 50 is not impossible, I assure you. In this blog post I will share my recent success in losing weight after 50 (I’m age 52! and have lost 24 1/2 inches and 18 lbs with the supervision of my doctor) and explain how I know you can too. Don’t be concerned about losing weight after 50, that’s it’s not possible for you simply because you’ve been at a plateau for a long time. I was stuck at 20-25 lbs over my ideal weight for the past DECADE! I can feel your pain! After you read this blog post and hear my story, you’ll understand that losing weight after 50 IS doable and I’m happy to be your guide. Let’s get started.

    trouble losing weight after 50

    How to Start Losing Weight After 50

    Those of you that have been following me for a while know what I’m going to say here. BEFORE YOU START getting serious about losing weight after 50- you have to understand how important one thing is: your HORMONES. If you have not yet had comprehensive bloodwork done yet and seen a functional medicine doctor to get on bio-identical hormonal treatment yet– most diet approaches will be a short term fix at best. Your body will ultimately end up fighting back and you’ll gain weight. I’ve seen this happen with me. That’s a sad but real truth. You can get comprehensive blood-work done via Ulta Lab Tests nationwide- CLICK HERE. They will save you soooo much money and then you’ll have bloodwork you can take to any functional medicine doctor which will save you time. GET IT DONE, TRUST ME. 

    fat loss after 50

    What I know is the secret to losing weight after 50

    Here is what I know to be true about losing weight after 50- and it’s the same as losing weight after 40. The first most important thing is to have that foundational focus on getting your HORMONES checked out. Once you are this age (and truthfully, it’s no longer even about being in your 40’s or 50’s or older, women are presenting with hormonal imbalances as early as in their twenties now– go listen to my interviews with Laurie Christine King and Alex Mazzurco if you want real life examples!) your hormones are 50% of the equation when it comes to your body’s ability to lose weight — in my opinion. Ignoring your hormones means you’ll be facing an uphill battle to get in shape. Further– I won’t get off topic here but — YOUR ENTIRE LIFE AND FUTURE CAN CHANGE when your hormones are balanced– WHY NOT PURSUE THAT? I look and feel better at age 52 than I did at age 32…..if that’s not an argument for anti-aging I don’t know what is. So- to summarize my history- as briefly as possible, my body started changing around age 40. At that time I began to gain weight while not changing anything with my diet and exercise. I was training with a trainer and he thought I might be pregnant because my boobs got so big. Still, it took years for me to even THINK of hormones. I just kept pushing and pushing, dieting harder and working out harder. (one of the major mistakes most women make) I sought out every secret diet that might work. I never stopped dieting. For the past 10 years I kept pushing and going and going…..harder and harder. 

    I never really made progress. 

    Aside from a few windows of success: after doing a round of the HCG Diet- and following that up with some ill-advised direction to dive right in to Faster Way to Fat Loss without any reverse dieting out of HCG …followed by a HORRIBLE experience with a horrible dietitian who helped me gain a bunch of weight…..let’s just say the most recent 5 years or so have been the most miserable for me. I’ve lived in black baggy clothes, I’ve dieted my A&& off and….nothing worked. 

    UNTIL THIS YEAR. Actually – it was last summer that I took the first steps toward my new future, but I did not know it at the time. 

     

    I do think it’s important to mention here. After 10+ years of nonstop dieting and overtraining I listened to Alex Mazzurco, hired her as my trainer and committed to doing a reverse diet to heal myself. I did a reverse diet for almost a year. I fired my last functional medicine doctor who was not getting me results. In October I hired a female functional medicine doctor– Dr. Ruthie Harper in Austin TX- and started working with her. From our first consult I KNEW she’d heal me. She told me I had to work MOST on my insulin resistance, not my hypothyroid issues. That was an eye opener: I think far too many women focus way too much on hypothyroid issues as the reason why we can’t lose weight. Dr. Harper said the primary reason I wasn’t losing fat was insulin not thyroid. When April/May of this year hit and she told me I was finally well enough to diet again and she gave me my macros– and it was basically keto….I freaked out a bit. Well, a lot. I was the most skeptical person on the planet about the keto diet. SPOILER ALERT: The secret to losing weight after 50 for most women is keto. That’s right. Keto + Fasting + Exogenous Ketones is the magical combination that has transformed my body and helped me shed 24 inches and 18lbs since June 1st. I am wearing clothes I haven’t worn in YEARS. I am 8lbs from my goal weight. I do a double take in the mirror about every day!!! I walk with a strut now! I haven’t looked this good in over a decade. AND I FEEL GREAT. And guess what else: this is a lifestyle. I don’t feel deprived at all. I drink. I eat food I love. My cravings are virtually gone and I never binge anymore! This has transformed my LIFE!! I never ever would have expected all of this from just going keto but heck if I knew this I would have done it 3 years ago!!!! I’m so passionate about sharing this — I’m becoming a certified keto coach — so I can help more women aged 40+ with hormone issues lose the weight-  THIS IS THE SOLUTION. I’m telling you. Keto + Fasting + Exogenous Ketones will change your life– it changed mine. My husband stops me at least once a day somewhere in our house and will remark about how much my body has transformed. I have to buy new clothes all the time because I’m losing pounds/inches….it’s amazing. 

    Who would have thought something so simple was the answer— but when you think about it— if INSULIN RESISTANCE is the key- then keto really is the thing that automatically removes all the foods that cause insulin response. It removes what causes cravings. It removes what causes binges. It’s transformative more than you know. I’d love to know what this post did for you– what questions you have and how I can help? Are you ready to take the leap?? 

    But WAIT, There's MORE!

    BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE

    If you found this blog post helpful, you will probably enjoy these podcasts and videos and other blog posts below. And if you think these might be helpful to a friend or family member, I’d love it if you’d share this post with them– spread the love! Thank you in advance! “My Keto Diet Results” CLICK HERE to read. “How to Balance Hormones to Lose Weight” CLICK HERE to Listen. “Kiss Hormonal Weight Gain Goodbye” CLICK HERE to watch. 

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  • Fitness, Personal Blog, Transformation, WEIGHT LOSS

    75 Hard Challenge: Not For Me. Why I’m going with #65MODIFIED instead!

    Why I said NO to the 75 Hard Challenge.

    A friend of mine challenged me recently to join her on the 75 Hard Challenge. I’ve heard of it and looked it up again and decided– although I was so tempted– I decided not to do the 75 Hard Challenge but to make my own close enough version – #65modified. So for those of you going for it and taking on the 75 Hard Challenge, snaps to you, but here is what I’m doing and I invite you to join my version of the 75 Hard Challenge.

    I’m excited. I was looking for a fun way to amp things up the last part of this year. I’ve had such a great whole body transformation so far with my keto results since June 1st and I’m just 9lbs away from my goal weight. I REALLY NEED TO GET BACK TO MY WORKOUT LIFE. This is the perfect thing to get me rolling again. I love challenges now- I used to think they were cheesy but I do love being on program and having the accountability with others. I invite you to join me! 

    75 Hard Challenge

    The great thing about a challenge is it gives you something to follow. Rather than just randomly showing up at the gym and saying “Hmm what will I do today” and then hopping on the same treadmill to do the same lame workout and get the same results, challenges help you get outside of your comfort zone. This is what I need and I think it’s fun and good to do challenges year-round. Let’s roll!

    Pass on 75 Hard Challenge: Yes toMy #65Modified Challenge

    75HARD CHALLENGE RESULTS

    So here is my “65Modified” Challenge. It’s 65 days obviously. I started on October 18th- you can start whenever you want! The focus is: 

    1) Drink More Water. I have been HORRIBLE about hydration lately and it’s been showing up in headaches. I’m no longer allowing myself to sneak diet soda during the day. So I’m down with the 75 Hard Challenge idea of a Gallon of water per day. 

    2) 1 45-60 minute workout a day, alternating between weights and cardio. 2 workouts a day for me, after having been in a reverse diet for a year with scaled back training would be a recipe for disaster. Nope. Also giving myself 1 day off a week so aiming for 6 workouts weekly. The 75 Hard Challenge is 2 workouts every day, mine is 1 workout a day for 6 days a week.

    3) EAT MEALS not snacks. And more SALADS. I really plan to focus on more salads. Salads are a lower carb way to get in some greens and I want to aim for that.

    4) Stick to my keto diet. Not gonna be a problem.

    5) Take my supplements and vitamins. I’ve been good about my ketones and my liquid collagen etc. but bad about my vitamins/supplements and I’m getting back to that. THEY ARE IMPORTANT. 6) Take a photo every day. I’m down with that. 7) Measure every week like I was.8) Read 10 pages every morning. I needed to get back to this anyway. I’m down. 9) No cheat meals…I don’t really DO cheat meals anymore but I don’t like the rule of saying no cheat meals so I’m making this a thing. In my keto lifestyle there really aren’t diet times and cheat days so this is unnecessary. 10) Fasting: adding in weekly 24 hour fasts REGULARLY and once a month doing the Pruvit 60-hour reboot. 

    That about sums it up. I’m on day 4 now and have been drinking my water every day (headaches are getting less and less!), taking my supplements 2x a day, getting my workouts in (this week will be 5 vs. 6, gotta be honest!) and I’m on point with my meals vs. snacking! Who wants to join me?

    But Wait, There’s MORE!

    BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE

    If you liked this post, I’m guessing you’ll like some of these other recent posts and videos from my YouTube channel as well: WHAT I EAT ON THE KETO DIET and HOW TO STOP SNACKING AT NIGHT. Plus VIDEO: MY KETO TRANSFORMATION.

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