Making FIT Work

Let's talk about the idea of cheat meals and why I think in general you should avoid an eating plan that promotes using cheat meals as a way to stay on track.

The idea of a cheat meal initially sounds great, right? As if being "allowed" a cheat meal will help you stay on track. This one cheat meal will prevent you from feeling like you're missing out on the foods you love and will give you the flexibility you need in your diet, right? WRONG!

If you ever feel inclined to sign-up for a diet that promotes cheat meals, I encourage you to walk away. Especially if you are someone who has been on/off the diet rollercoaster for a better part of your life.

Here's Why…

We all know that eating healthy is mentally harder than it is physically. Have you ever had a cheat meal turn into a whole cheat day or even worse a whole weekend? I know I have. And, it's a shitty feeling. But that can happen when you look at the foods you love with scarcity, with the idea that you are only "allowed" to enjoy it on certain days or only 1x/week. You start creating unhealthy feelings around your food and diet.

Not to mention the word "cheat" itself is negative. As if having those particular foods that you enjoy so much is a BAD thing, as if it's wrong, and by having them YOU are doing something wrong. That is a dangerous mindset to have when you are trying to work towards being your best you.

Lastly, cheat days are not sustainable. Cheat days need to be planned and anticipated but life isn't always that clear cut.

As always, I hope you found this to be helpful in your journey to strong, healthy and happy!

You can find me online sharing workouts, nutrition and mindset tips at @FITwith_Nina

And if you're on FB, I would love it if you joined our private community, Making FIT Work.

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On today's episode I chatted with Lauren Dorschied, Massage Therapist, Mom, fitness enthusiast and foodie. We dove into what keeps her motivated, the evolution of her fitness journey and how moving down south gave her the permission to find a new love for lifting.

Lauren grew up in a house of runners with both of her parents being avid marathoners so she was no stranger to the local races and power bars as the go-to snack. And now as a Mom to two girls she is setting the same example by prioritizing her workouts into the everyday routine of the household. Lauren uses the example of giving her daughters a heads up if she plans on working out that afternoon after they get home from school so that they are well aware in advance of the day's agenda. She says prioritizing her workouts also helps her fully commit and put her energy into family time afterwards.

We unpacked that overall feeling of mom-guilt we all tend to feel at times when we choose to spend time on ourselves and Lauren made a great point to say that we should tune into those feelings! If you're really feeling like you should be spending quality time with the family instead of working out, then give yourself permission to shorten up the workout so that you can get back to the space where your heart and mind really want to be at the moment.

One of Lauren's tips to get started or stay consistent is finding a type of fitness that you feel excited about. Maybe it's walking, running, lifting, stretching. In the end, it's about finding 20 minutes in the day to do something that feels GOOD for your body.

We talked about the comparison trap, the mindset most people have around rest days and how to make your workouts work for you.

Lauren's biggest tips for How To Make Fit Work are:

1. Find enjoyment in your exercise and your food
2. Be flexible
3. Pay attention to your body. What do you want to eat? How does your body want to move? What sounds good to you?
4. Stop comparing yourself to anyone.

Lauren's fitness and nutrition journey has evolved so much over the years, Lauren noted, "in fitness…you can outgrow certain things" while she was explaining how her fitness journey has changed. From 5ks in high school to following in her parent's footsteps as a marathoner and now lifting enthusiast with a sprinkle of running.

We also dove deep into different forms of dieting and mindset blocks that Lauren has found her way around and now in a place where she is feeling her best.

I hope you'll tune in to listen to the full episode and walk away with some good nuggets to help guide you in your own personal journey

On today's episode of Making FIT Work we have over 60 years of collective experience in the fitness and nutrition industry between myself and my amazing three guests; Nicole Blasi, Jennifer Kirsch and Lauren Mahoney.

I wanted to kick-off the New Year by diving deep into the biggest reasons most people aren't getting the results they want in order to help you make some real sustainable changes in 2022.

Nicole Blasi, personal trainer & nutrition coach for 23 years and the co-host of the EatRite Nutrition podcast.

1 Reason: Consistency. In order to build big behavior or nutrition changes in our lifestyle we need to start with small amounts of consistency. Continuously checking those small boxes that will eventually build into bigger more detailed habits that will give us bigger and better results over time.

Jennifer Kirsch

1 Reason: Not having an Accountability System in place. Jennifer recommends that you find a system or program that offers some measure of accountability. It could be as simple as setting a reminder on your phone, finding a workout buddy, becoming an active part of a fitness community (in-person or online) or investing in a Trainer or Coach.

Lauren Mahoney, certified strength and conditioning specialist who has been working in the fitness industry for 10 years as a 1:1 and group trainer.

1 Reason: Commitment Level. Laura explains how the commitment level must match not only the goal at hand but the lifestyle. For example, committing to 4 workouts a week when realistically 2-3 would be best for your current schedule. Get realistic with your level of commitment in order to stay consistent.

Nina McGoff, certified food and fitness coach. Creator of the HIIT & Lift online training program and host of Making FIT Work.

1 Reason: Overlooking the importance of proper nutrition. No matter what your goals are, you cannot out exercise improper nutrition. You also need proper nutrition to fuel your brain, body and workouts and without it you will eventually crash due to a lack of energy or give up due to a lack of results.

Listen to the full episode for an open discussion about each of these topics along with real solutions on how to overcome these very real mindset blocks that may be the very reason you're not getting the results you expect.

You can find each of these female fitness leaders online and on IG using the links below. I highly encourage you to follow them for valuable fitness and nutrition content on the regular.

Nicole Blasi, @eatritenutrition and @bossblasie Jennifer Kirsch, @jenniferkirschfitness Laura Mahoney, @laura.e.mahoney

As always, I hope you find this episode to be helpful and if you did, it would mean so much to me if you took a minute to rate and review this podcast. It really does help!

Be strong, be healthy, be happy! much love,

Nina

On this episode of Making FIT Work, I interview Amy Bushatz. Amy is the Director & Executive Editor of Military.com, host of the Humans Outside Podcast, and Creator of Humans Outside. As well as mom to two boys and military wife.

It wasn't that long (10 or so years) that Amy was first introduced to short weekly runs and over that time she went from half-marathons to ultra runner. Amy shares how consistency in her day-to-day routine has allowed her to build habits that allow her to juggle her full-time career and motherhood while enjoying the outdoors as much as possible.

Amy has made it a priority to spend 20 minutes outside every single day, even in the cold Alaska winters. You can learn more about https://humansoutside.com/

Or join the Humans Outside Challenge here, https://humansoutside.com/challenge/

I did! And, I can't wait to spend more time outside in 2022! I hope you'll join me.

You can also find Humans Outside on Instagram & Facebook.

It's about that time of year again where you may be thinking about proclaiming a New Year's Resolution. I personally think setting yourself up with some new personal or professional goals can be a good thing if done right.

The problem with New Year, New Me type resolutions is that very few people follow through and eventually give up on the idea. I saw this all that time when I worked in gyms. Gyms & group fitness classes would be booming in January/February and then back down to their core base of members by the Spring.

But I'm here to tell you that it's not you, you are not the reason you're resolution was a big flop, your lack of strategy was the reason you weren't able to accomplish those goals.

So let's get strategic... Start by writing down your overall big goal. Then break down that goal into smaller, short-term goals (quarterly or monthly). Once you have those short-term goals this is where the strategy part comes in.

HOW are you going to accomplish these smaller, short-term goals?

This is where people get stuck. Most people will have a broad, vague answer (i.e. if the goal is to lose weight, the strategy is "eat better & workout") and that's not going to cut it. You need to be specific. Avoid leaving things to be figured out along the way.

How are you going to eat better and workout? Where, when, what do you need to do at-home or at-work in order to make these things actionable and tangible. Keep asking yourself "HOW?" until you get super detailed answers for yourself.

If you can do that, I have no doubt that you will crush your goals in 2022!

As always I hope that you found this episode to be helpful, and would love to connect with you further in our Making FIT Work community on Facebook, or on Instagram at @fitwith_nina. Until next time...be strong, be healthy, be happy!

Today I address the topic of emotional, stress eating...turning to food as a way to cope with personal stress.

While some people avoid food when stressed others turn to food as a way to deflect from the initial feelings of stress. The minute you turn to the fridge or pantry you are taking the first steps towards deflecting and temporarily pushing the real stress to the back of your mind. Unfortunately, this type of mindless snacking is a very small, temporary band-aid and doesn't actually resolve anything.

If anything you just end up feeling worse. The only difference is that now you are stressed about something that IS within your control.

If this is something you've dealt with or are dealing with, I do have a few suggestions for you as a former stress eater myself.

1. Since we've already established that emotional, stress eating is a way to deflect and temporarily forget about the real problem at hand....what else can do that for you? Can you go for a walk, take a car ride, call a friend, clean the house, workout, take some time to journal, etc? Find something else that will help you take your mind off of the thing that is stressing you out.

I personally love the benefits of journaling, whether it's to start my day off with a little gratitude and self-reflection or to literally brain dump all of my feelings and emotions onto paper when I'm feeling overwhelmed. It's therapeutic.

2. When you find yourself in front of the fridge or pantry, take a second to stop and ask yourself, "Is this really going to make me feel better?" "Is this going to get me one step closer or further away from my goals?"

Take a second to really pause and think, do you want to feel better in the morning or worse?

3. Lastly, it's important to recognize and address the actual thing that's causing you stress. Especially if this is a recurring theme. How can you start to address the bigger picture? Realizing that most things can't or won't be solved overnight but realistically, what steps can you take to address these everyday stressors in your life?

With Much love,

Nina

P.S. If you want to connect further I would love to catch up with you on Instagram, you can find me at @fitwith_nina or you can join the Making FIT Work private community on Facebook here.

Today we are talking about the benefits of HIIT Cardio. What is HIIT? HIIT stands for High-Intensity Interval Training. The goal with this type of training is that for a short period of time (10-30seconds), you're going to work and push as hard as you can. And then you're going to follow that up with a period of resting for as long as you need to steady your breathing. From there rinse and repeat this cycle for 10 - 20 min for optimal results.

Essentially the faster you can recover, the stronger your heart is!

There are lots of benefits to HIIT training and of them is its overall efficiency...more muscle for your hustle. ;) In other words, you burn more calories in less time w/ HIIT Cardio versus running or cycling for example, where your heart rate is staying elevated at a consistent level in the aerobic zone the entire time. The short bursts of intensity get our bodies training from the anaerobic zone multiplying our fat calorie burn and metabolic rate.

Now the question becomes when and how much HIIT cardio should you do? You'll want to keep your HIIT workouts short, no more than 20-30 minutes long, and limit them to 2-3x/week.

Personally, I love adding HIIT training to my short, strength sessions giving me the best of both worlds (10 min of HIIT & 20 min of Strength).

Admittedly though, I had always been of the mindset that cardio should come post strength session and not before. However, as I've been studying for my Metabolic Female certification, I've been learning a lot of nutrition & fitness specifically designed to target fat loss in women and Dr. Jade Teta who is an expert in this field and teaches this course recommends that women, in particular, should begin their strength sessions with 10 min of HIIT.

So I started using myself and several clients as guinea pigs for this format and am loving the results! I have increased my overall calorie burn of a 30-minute workout by at least 100 calories and noticed that I am feeling more energized rather than DEAD by the end of my workout. And just to be sure I wasn't just drinking the cool-aid, I did more research to find that in fact, there had been several recent studies measuring the effects of HIIT Cardio pre and post weight lifting and the results were conclusive, HIIT cardio done before a weightlifting session challenged the body more both during and after the workout - again maximizing our calorie burn and metabolic rate. Interesting stuff, right?

Anyway, I hope you found this episode to be helpful. I am super grateful for your listening ears and look forward to chatting with you again soon.

Much love,

Nina

Now that we are about mid-November, I thought it would be a good time to start thinking about the holiday season as it pertains to our health & fitness. Without a doubt, this time of year starts to get hectic and people start to feel overwhelmed as they continue to juggle their normal day-to-day activities on top of all the extra holiday expectations...shopping, social gatherings, travel, etc.

So how do you avoid letting the holidays de-rail your results? Well, I've got a few suggestions for you that have helped me nip my holiday mindset and fitness practice in the bud over the last several years.

First and foremost, have a backup plan or at the least be flexible with your fitness during these months. What I mean by that is instead of letting your workouts take a back seat because you're so busy this time of year, get ok with only working out for 15-20minutes. If you work with a Coach or Trainer ask them to program your workouts accordingly. This is one of the biggest benefits of working with clients in an online capacity, is that I am constantly re-working their program to fit their needs and schedule so that they never feel "off."

Secondly, give yourself permission to enjoy and indulge. If your goal is to be perfect, you will end up failing. If your goal is to indulge without overdoing it, that is much more realistic. If you go into a holiday dinner telling yourself you CAN'T have something you will inevitably WANT IT! And then will end up feeling like a failure if you do indulge, and unfortunately, that feeling of failure will end up leading to what? You guessed it, overdoing it.

Lastly, watch your words. Our words are so powerful, and negative phrases around food and fitness can lead to self-sabotaging the entire season and having to hit the re-set button come January. Instead, use words of gratitude and praise around your choices. Try saying how delicious something was, or how you can't wait to try that dish because it looks amazing, etc. Positive talk around food will not only help you feel better overall but it will help in being able to stay the course. Because realistically, it's never one dessert, meal, or day that de-rails your results, it's letting that one day turn into an entire month or months.

As always, I hope that you found this episode to be helpful, and would love to connect with you further in our Making FIT Work community on Facebook or on Instagram at @fitwith_nina. Until next time...be strong, be healthy, be happy!

On today's episode I chat with my friend and colleague, Elise Tzurkov. Elise has been working in the fitness and health profession for 20 years and focuses on macro nutrition and the female metabolism. She is also a person trainer, college instructor, and mom of 3. Elise is also a Type 1 Diabetes mentor and ambassador, and full time pancreas to her son with Type 1.

We dive deep into how her son's diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes opened her up to the world of insulin and our body's production and response to it which lead her to Macro Tracking for her and eventually her clients.

Elise breaks down for us the important difference between tracking macros versus calories, and why in fact so many people get better longer lasting results by tracking macros instead of calories.

We unpack what types of foods make up our daily macronutrients, how to calculate the right amount for ourselves and how to use it as a tool in your health & fitness journey.

Elise provides clients with a FREE How-To Macro Guide that you can sign-up for here, Sign up to receive your FREE guide on How To Macro

Or if you want to reach out to Elise about getting started with Macro Tracking, you can find her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/functionallyfitwithelise/

As always, I hope you found this episode to be helpful and if you have any episode suggestions for me I would love to hear from you. Feel free to email me directly at [email protected]