Eating often becomes a rushed, unconscious activity due to busy lifestyles and packed schedules. New clients often tell me they eat standing up or multitask during meals, barely noticing the food on their plates—and certainly not enjoying it! This disconnect from our eating habits causes overeating, poor digestion, and a lack of fun in our meals. Mindful eating offers a pathway to a more intentional, satisfying relationship with food. By infusing mindfulness into mealtime, we can create better health and a deeper appreciation for food.

Here are three ways to practice mindful eating.

1. Engage All Your Senses

A fundamental principle of mindful eating is to engage ALL your senses in the experience. This practice invites you to truly observe and appreciate the food in front of you, rather than mindlessly consuming it.

Before you take your first bite, slow down and really look at your food. Notice the colors, shapes, and textures. Is your plate vibrant with a variety of colors, or...

Carbohydrates are always a hot topic in the nutrition world and a focus of trending diets. As a nutrition coach, I often have to explain the critical distinction between complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates. While complex carbs–found in whole grains, vegetables, and legumes–are celebrated for their health benefits, simple carbs have a less favorable reputation. Understanding the problems simple carbs cause will help inform your dietary choices.

What Are Simple Carbs?

Simple carbohydrates, also known as simple sugars, are composed of one or two sugar molecules. Common sources include:

Glucose: Found in fruits and vegetables.

Fructose: Found in fruits and honey.

Sucrose: Common table sugar, found in many sweets and processed foods.

Lactose: Found in milk and dairy products.

These sugars are quickly digested and absorbed by the body, leading to rapid spikes in blood sugar levels. While they are naturally present in some healthy foods like fruits and vegetables,...

That magical holiday and the accompanying feast have come and gone—and if you stayed on track, you are one of the few. The good news is, whether you’ve been working with a nutrition coach or following your own program, you can get back on track and minimize the damage without missing a beat. Here are three awesome ways to get back on track and undo some of that Thanksgiving damage.

1. Check and Restock Your Kitchen

This means get rid of the leftovers. If you didn’t give them away at your dinner, donate them to a local shelter as soon as possible (no, we’re not kidding). Then do a clean sweep of your pantry and refrigerator. Get rid of all the processed foods and simple carbs that you may have stocked up on for your holiday preparations. Then hit the supermarket and reload on healthy, low carb snacks and foods.

2. Work it Out

While it may seem harder than ever to motivate, it’s essential that you jump right back into your fitness routine. Go to the gym,...

Memorial Day weekend is typically a fun one—it kicks off the summer and gives us a chance to celebrate and spend time with our friends and loved ones. While this may mean parties with lots of opportunity to eat and imbibe, it doesn’t mean you have to toss your healthy lifestyle to the wind this weekend. All you need is a plan to stay on track without depriving yourself.

Here are a few nutrition coach-approved strategies that can help you enjoy Memorial Day festivities without packing on the pounds.

1. BYOD—as in Bring Your Own Dish

Bring a healthy yet delicious dish to the party. This ensures that there is a healthy choice at the party, while providing a little help to the host. Even something as simple as a healthy salad loaded with leafy greens and seasonal produce or a fresh fruit bowl will be a hit. Eat your own healthy dish and then just sample the other offerings. You’ll enjoy yourself and not feel deprived, without “cheating” on your...

Many individuals who seek assistance from a nutrition coach want to know if snacking is a healthy or unhealthy habit. While snacking mindlessly when you’re not hungry or just because you’re bored is not a good thing, well-timed, healthy snacks can play an essential role in a healthy diet. Healthy snacks help keep your metabolism revved while satiating your hunger. This can help you avoid letting your stomach get to the point where you’re so hungry that you overeat when you do sit down to a meal—a common problem that leads to volatile blood sugar levels, and ultimately, weight gain.

Obviously, junk food and baked goods are not healthy snacks. But when you choose high-protein snacks or fiber-rich fruits and vegetables, snacking can be a healthy habit that helps you maintain a balanced diet.

Here are a few reasons why:

1. Snacks Stave Off Cravings

Most individuals start to feel hunger pangs after three to four hours, which is an appropriate time for having a...

Losing weight and getting in shape are two of the most popular resolutions people make every year. Whether it’s motivated by holiday weight gain or a “New Year, New You” mentality, these are great choices for improving your overall health. However, studies show that, on average, many Americans lose their stride and give up their resolutions by the third week of January. To avoid this, we’re sharing some strategies from our nutrition coach’s arsenal to help you stay on track with health and wellness goals in 2023.

1. Choose Reasonable Goals That You Can Tailor

Instead of choosing a broad goal like “lose weight” or one that’s too extreme, design smaller action steps that will lead you to your ultimate goal. Your “resolutions” or goals can be small, actionable objectives that you build on over time. Make it about creating new healthy habits over the long term rather than quitting something that will feel extreme and difficult...