“Abs are made in the kitchen.” We’ve all heard this, right?  While there’s certainly something to that, what you put into your body goes a lot deeper than seeing visible abs, especially from a health perspective. But let’s be honest- we want to look good, right? We want to look and feel healthy and vibrant, we want to look fit (whatever that means for you), we want to walk around feeling attractive and good in our skin and we want to feel like a million bucks.  The best way to do that?  Feed yourself well.

I’m obviously not going to tell you that means cutting out sugar or carbs and “bad food”, but I will tell you that if you want to feel amazing, you’d better believe that what goes into your body plays a direct roll in what you put out.

You’ve heard it before: crap in, crap out.

If you’re not feeling healthy and vibrant and you’re not energized and feeling like a million bucks, the first place to look is your nutrition and there are a few things you should look at in order to make that shift.

So here’s what you’re going to do…You’re going to track the following for 3-5 days:

• What you eat- I mean everything you eat. Those little bites here and there, the food you finish off your kids plates, the “sampling” you do while cooking dinner, everything.
• How much you’re sleeping
• How much water and caffiene you’re drinking
• How you feel emotionally when you wake up in the morning, around noon time and at night

After you do that, you’re going to look at the following on a deeper level:

1. How many fresh veggies you’re getting in.

You want to eat 3-5 servings of veggies each day at the very least. Now of course that’s not always going to happen, but do the best you can. If you’re not currently getting 3-5 serving of veggies, make that a priority.

2. How much water and caffeine you’re drinking.

Caffeine can send us on an energy rollercoaster. If you’re having more than 1-2 cups of caffeine each day, you might want to consider cutting back. You’ll probably also notice that as your veggie intake increases, the less caffeine you actually need (natural energy FTW!). As for water, make sure you’re drinking half your bodyweight in ounces of water each day. So if someone weights 150lbs, they should aim for 75oz of water- more if they’re sweating a lot and are really active.

3. How much sugar you’re eating.

You know I love me some candy, right?  I really do, but my sugar intake is also on of the first thing I look at when I’m feeling less than stellar because while sugar can spike our energy, it can also send us crashing. Check out how much added sugar you’re consuming and how much alcohol you’re taking in. For me, and for lots of my clients, there’s a big correlation between consuming lots of added sugar and feeling like garbage. 

4. How you’re building your meals and snacks.

Getting enough protein is a sure fire way to control your hunger, curb your appetite, and keep you full and satisfied. Protein keeps up feeling fuller for longer because it takes more time to break down and digest than carbs do. making protein the ideal food to build your meals and snacks around. Putting veggies on top of that adds a bunch of fiber and nutrients and will help you feel amazing, energized and satisfied.

Now you have a couple action steps to take regarding your nutrition for the start of your healthy lifestyle revamp.  To help you get to where you want to be, I have a couple free downloads for you so you can get yourself set up for success and feel really prepared:

1. Fat Loss Friendly Grocery Shopping Guide- now that you know what to do, you need to know what to eat, right? Download this free grocery shopping guide that will take out all the guesswork and can help make grocery shopping a breeze. I also give you some meal suggestions with the foods you’ll buy off this list. Click the picture below to grab your free copy!

2. #SimpleSaneSuccessful Fat Loss Nutrition Guide- This guide breaks down protein, fats and carbs, provides info on how to release guilt from food, how to incorporate treats into your daily diet without derailing your progress and includes a really simple and basic food tracker. Click the picture below to grab your copy!