Vanessa G Fitcast

It's time for a pep talk...

My motto this year is lean into discomfort.

Nothing worth doing comes easy.

The price of feeling good is also feeling bad.

That’s the 50/50 of life.

Trying to never feel bad is like trying to outrun your own shadow.

Thoughts are like fire: it can cook you dinner or it can burn your house down. It can save you or it can destroy you.

You can do hard things. Your brain just wants to make you believe you can’t.

Think of it like working out. The weights don’t become lighter over time, you get stronger.

Just because you feel bad doesn’t mean you need to change anything (except maybe your own mindset).

We hope this episode is a reminder that the things worth pursing are hard, you'll be better for going through it, and trust yourself to push through the tough times.

Time Stamps:

(2:47) A Needed Pep Talk Around Hard Things

(5:25) Lean Into Discomfort

(8:17) What Omar Is Most Proud Of Himself For

(10:06) Alcohol Example

(18:55) Unpacking With Someone Else

(21:20) Tangible Step By Step Process

(24:47) What Would My Mentor Think?

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Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

We can't wait to share an interview that's long overdue with a new coach to Vital Spark, Coach MacKenzie!

MacKenzie joined our team late summer 2024. She came to us with an impressive resume: a Bachelors in Exercise Science, Masters in Kinesiology, and Masters in Nursing, and a combined 9 years of experience as a Labor & Delivery Nurse, Athletic Trainer, and as an Online Coach!⁣

But she doesn’t just have the knowledge and experience, she has walked the walk!⁣ Years of a demanding nursing schedule on top of having kids left her with severe hormonal imbalances, no longer looking and feeling like the athlete she had always been.⁣ Once she discovered functional health, her entire world changed! Now she lives the crazy life of being a working mom to 7-year-old Raelynn and 5-year-old Cayden, coaching Raelynn’s softball team where they live outside of Nashville TN, managing a household with 2 dogs, and still maintaining her own health & fitness!⁣ 

I’m so excited for her to share her story with you all, so you can find out why she is such a loved coach on our tea

Time Stamps:

(1:32) Mckenzie’s Background

(4:05) Pursuing Athletic Training

(6:32) Dreamed Working In Baseball

(10:09) Shifting To Nursing School

(13:42) Becoming A Mom

(16:12) Going Through The FLUSH Protocol

(23:30) Shifting Into Coaching

(26:32) You’re Right About Your Body

(28:12) Where To Find

---------------------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

Your doctor could be gatekeeping something that could transform your health...

I know that's a bold statement and I wouldn't be saying it if I hadn't seen it change my life first hand and countless lives here at Vital Spark.

I'm talking about Dutch tests and GI Maps and while there are many doctors out there that embrace these tests, many do not are are stuck in their old ways of practicing.

I want you to be an advocate for your health and that starts with awareness and knowing what is available to you when it comes to testing and finding the root cause of your issues.

In today's episode, we're going to be discussing why doctors might be against these tests, how these tests changed my life, full moon and testing, and much more!

Time Stamps:

(1:27) “Cold” In Florida Right Now

(3:27) Functional Lab Testing

(5:02) Why Doctors Might Be Against Testing

(7:12) How These Tests Changed My Life

(16:27) Full Moon and Testing

(18:32) Client Example

(22:32) The Future of These Tests

(24:57) Please Rate and Review

---------------------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

This might just be what you and your gut need in 2025...

We talk about gut health a lot on this show and for good reason. There are so many ways our gut affects our overall health including the areas of digestive wellness, our immune system and health, our gut brain axis that affects our mood and mental well-being, and so much more.

Our gut also plays a massive role in our metabolism and energy regulation for weight management and weight loss. 

Some gut issues can look like:

- Mood disorders

- Stool changes- constipation, diarrhea

- Abdominal bloating and gas

- Feeling full quickly

- Heartburn, GERD, reflux

- Stomach pain, burning, or cramping, nausea

- Hormonal imbalance (gut issues common in perimenopause)

- Food sensitivity

- IBS, IBD, Crohn’s, colitis, etc

- Autoimmune disease

- Skin issues- eczema, acne, psoriasis

- Nutrient deficiencies (poor absorption)

- Getting sick often/easily

To alleviate these issues, most go with taking medication, an antibiotic, go the FODMAP diet route, cut out gluten and dairy, or take random supplements. What if another route existed?

In today's episode and Part 2 of these series, we're going to cover the specifics around the 5R gut protocol, what you need to know to utilize it, the 5 stages, and more!

Time Stamps:

(1:12) Part 1 Last Week

(2:34) The Lawn Analogy

(6:20) Planting The New Seeds

(7:57) Prebiotics

(10:52) The Repair Phase

(11:56) Rebalance

---------------------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

This might just be what you and your gut need in 2025...

We talk about gut health a lot on this show and for good reason. There are so many ways our gut affects our overall health including the areas of digestive wellness, our immune system and health, our gut brain axis that affects our mood and mental well-being, and so much more.

Our gut also plays a massive role in our metabolism and energy regulation for weight management and weight loss. 

Some gut issues can look like:

- Mood disorders

- Stool changes- constipation, diarrhea

- Abdominal bloating and gas

- Feeling full quickly

- Heartburn, GERD, reflux

- Stomach pain, burning, or cramping, nausea

- Hormonal imbalance (gut issues common in perimenopause)

- Food sensitivity

- IBS, IBD, Crohn’s, colitis, etc

- Autoimmune disease

- Skin issues- eczema, acne, psoriasis

- Nutrient deficiencies (poor absorption)

- Getting sick often/easily

To alleviate these issues, most go with taking medication, an antibiotic, go the FODMAP diet route, cut out gluten and dairy, or take random supplements. What if another route existed?

In today's episode and Part 1 of these series, we're going to cover a lot of gut health topics that may be slowing your progress down and explain why the 5R gut protocol might be useful for you. Stick around for Part 2 where we'll dive into the protocol piece by piece.

Time Stamps:

(1:51) 5R Gut Protocol

(2:37) The Importance of Gut Health

(12:59) Noticing Changes In Your Gut Health

(22:55) Gluten and Dairy

(25:08) Why We Don’t Recommend Supplements

(26:17) The 5R Gut Protocol

---------------------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

I tried a lot of things for hormone health in 2024…

Some I've shared on social media and on this podcast and some have been complete flops that I will never share. I enjoy the trial and error and being a guinea pig for these modalities.

To save you a bunch of time and effort, I want to share with you what I'm taking into 2025 when it comes to health hacks and self care practices.

I'll list them below in case you want a detailed explanation of each and let me know which ones you take into 2025!

Flush Protocol:

• Liver = 10-20% of metabolism
• Functional foods, juices, supplements, and medical food powders to nourish thyroid and adrenals
• I aim for 1-2x/year for ongoing maintenance, everyone can benefit from at least 1 flush in their lifetime!

Follicular Phase Progressive Overload:

• Days 1-17ish I aim to increase my training volume (increased weights and/or reps) compared to prior month follicular phase
• I reduce volume (or don’t train at all) in luteal phase (Days 17+)

Silent Walks:

• Helps with blood sugar
• Silent = nervous system supporting
• Overall movement = muy bueno!
• I aim to do 1-2 per day, the more the merrier!

Scheduled Play Time:

• It’s so important to broaden your life!
• Put play on your schedule and treat it as an appointment that can’t be missed

Lymphatic Drainage:

• Dry brushing, gua sha, lympathic massage
• Helps move lymph fluid for better detoxification (and aesthetics!)

Weekly Yoga Class:

• I used to do a lot of yoga at home, but love going to a class 1x/week
• Vinyasa or Yin only
• I keep my practice restful- goal is nervous system management!

Caffeine Limits:

• I’ve gone from drinking 600mg caffeine per day in 2021, to 0mg per day in 2023, to having 50-125mg per day in 2024 and feel great!
• This is MY limit that keeps my adrenals happy, yours might be different!

Warmer Cold Plunges:

• I used to do plunges as often as possible and as cold as possible, but newer research suggests warmer and less often is more optimal for women
• Aim for 45+ degrees
• Less frequent during luteal phase

Feast/Fast Cycles:

• Most women should NOT be fasting
• Fasting only works if you have fed up and restored your hormones!
• I usually do light intermittent fasting around my follicular phase, and will throw in longer fasts around ovulation or menstruation every once in a while

Sober periods:

• Started doing this by accident
• Going months without alcohol
• Keeps liver from getting sluggish

IV Drips:

• Maybe 1x/quarter I’ll do an IV drip
• IV therapy = almost 100% absorption compared to ~50% for pills
• Anytime I feel like I’m getting sick or just feel run down I’ll schedule an IV

Time Stamps:

(2:39) Treating Myself As The Guinea Pig

(3:32) The FLUSH Protocol

(5:10) Favorite and Not Favorite Parts

(7:49) Follicular Phase Overload Training

(10:37) Silent Walks

(13:12) Scheduled Play Time

(17:22) Lymphatic Drainage

(21:04) Limiting Caffeine Intake

(23:13) Warmer Cold Plunges

(24:49) Feast and Fast Cycles

(27:22) Sober Cycles

(29:30) IV Drips

---------------------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

Have you ever had a quote or short essay completely change how you look at something?

Whether it's gaining awareness about something new or looking at an old problem through a new lens, seeing and hearing other's perspectives can change our hearts and minds for better or for worse sometimes.

In today's episode, I want to focus around a central subject about how you feel in your body and the many factors that can contribute to that feeling.

I want to share one of my favorite books recently titled, "101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think" by Breanna West and specifically share 18 short passages from this book and give you my interpretation of what they mean.

Please let me know if you have a favorite one and Happy New Year!

Time Stamps:

(1:43) Favorite Thing About Christmas

(4:44) The Relationship With Your Body

(7:37) Your Kids Hear and Internalize Everything

(8:52) Photoshop and The Distortion of Reality

(12:57) Judging Others and Your Opinion Of Yourself

(16:10) Your Friends and How They Treat Their Body

(17:16) The Media You Consume

(18:09) Your Heritage and Your Hometown

(19:57) Relationships and Physical Expectations

(21:16) The Journey vs A Destination

(22:54) Genuine Friendships

(24:00) Cat Calls

(24:40) Your Body’s Acceptability

(27:07) The Sun and Vitality

(28:24) Your Self-Worth

(30:20) The Body of Celebrities

(31:57) What Our Bodies Were Meant To Do

---------------------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

Everyone wants to know how to eat to balance your hormones and I wish it was an easy answer...

“Just tell me what to eat” people will ask. 

I’m actually really happy that we as a culture have shifted away from the low fat of the 90’s, low carb of the early 2000’s, and the overall fearing calories of recent years, and are starting to bring awareness to eating FOR hormone health! 

But we’re also very much still a culture of processed foods and fast food.

Everyone’s living off caffeine and stress, and our blood sugar is all over the place.

Eating to balance your hormones is a matter of going back to basics and eating in a well rounded & nourishing way.

In this episode, we're going to share the 3 steps to follow to eat in a way that promotes balanced hormones including how to eat a mostly whole food diet, how to avoid eating naked carbs, and how to get 20-40 grams of protein at each meal.

These steps have helped the thousands of women we've coached at Vital Spark and we hope they work for you too!

Time Stamps:

(1:32) It’s The Mold!

(2:08) Eating For Your Hormones

(5:22) Diet Aka Did I Eat Today?

(6:04) #1: Mostly Whole Food Diet

(9:27) #2: Avoid Eating Only Naked Carbs

(13:26) #3: Eating 20-40 Grams of Protein At Each Meal

---------------------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

I was baby-sitting a 5-year-old girl (NOT my perfect little niece from this video) when I found myself shocked into silence… ⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣

My goal to get her to take a shower suddenly felt unimportant as I watched her stand in front of the mirror, put her hands on her cute little 5-year-old belly, and say ⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣

“I’m fat.”⁣

⁣

⁣⁣No idea how to respond (I was 16 at the time), I defaulted to “don’t say that!”⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣

Of course, considering I was talking to a 5 year old, this just prompted a “why?”⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣

I too thought “why?”⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣

WHY is a FIVE year old girl picking apart her body?⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣

I was very familiar with the struggles of comparing my body to other girls in high school, ⁣⁣finding myself wearing looser shirts and positioning myself in photos to hide the parts of my body I was ashamed of… ⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣

But this was when I first realized just how much diet culture and negative body talk affect us.⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣

When women say “I can’t eat that” or “I’m on a diet”… girls hear that too.⁣⁣

⁣

This has always been a deep driver for me as a coach…⁣

⁣⁣⁣

Despite the 1000+ women my team and I have coached over the last 5 years, I was NOT put on this earth to help women lose weight.⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣

I was put on this earth to help women LOVE their bodies by HEALING them. ⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣

Is weight loss often a part of that journey toward health? For sure!⁣⁣ And our girls are dang proud of the external transformations they achieve. ⁣

⁣

But these transformations come from a place of LOVE and wanting to give ourselves the gift of consistent energy, regular PMS-free cycles, freedom to eat foods without fear of GI issues… not from a place of self-hate or shame.⁣

In this episode, we'll discuss how to pull yourselves toward your goals in a positive way rather than being pushed by ego or in negative ways. This is a powerful mindset shift to head into the new year with and we hope you start adopting it today!

Time Stamps:

(0:42) Shared A Recent Story On Instagram

(5:45) Pulling Ourselves Into The Positive

(8:45) Imagine You Are Talking To A 5 Year Old

(15:55) Our Individualized Approach

---------------------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

Would you believe me if I said the majority of our clients at Vital Spark consume 2000+ calories?

 Many even higher!

In order to understand this, you need to understand BMR.

You have actual BMR, potential BMR, actual TDEE, and potential TDEE. Getting to potential TDEE will create a metabolism that is more forgiving to live a healthy, balanced lifestyle.

For those who don't know, BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate and TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure (we'll explain what these mean in the episode). 

So how do we get to potential BMR and potential TDEE?

BMR:

Improve metabolic processes by working systems of the body: Adrenals, Thyroid, Liver, Gut, Sex hormones, and Insulin.

TDEE:

Increase NEAT: Work on habits and behaviors to increase activity levels, Increase energy by feeding up, Increase desire to get out and move by improving internal health (you’re less inclined to play with your kids or do active adventures with friends when your PMS is terrible or your gut is irritated), 

Optimize NEAT: Strength train > cardio, More calorie burn POST workout, Work smarter not harder, Make it shorter and more effective, which makes you more consistent with workouts.

Optimize TEF: Work on food quality without unnecessarily removing foods and creating restriction. ADD don’t subtract mindset

This is why you’ll see me share so many quotes or testimonial videos from clients saying how they’re eating foods they used to restrict, and have LOST weight!

Listen in as we go in detail about all of this and more!

Time Stamps:

(1:46) Quick Story You May Relate To

(4:10) What Is BMR?

(6:21) What Burns Calories

(8:04) Diving Deeper Into BMR

(10:02) Potential vs Actual TDEE

(15:37) Our Process

(18:32) The Calories Out Portion

(20:08) Actions We Have Our Clients Work On

(22:32) Food Quality

---------------------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!