Five things that have made me better.

It was my birthday yesterday. I tried to write something thoughtful about my goals, reflections, or the things I’d tell my 30-year-old self, but I just kind of sat there with the cursor blinking.

Ask my husband, my mom, my best friends, and they will tell you I’m not a sappy or overly emotional person—maybe it’s a fault of mine, maybe it’s not, but I just don’t like to be sentimental. I prefer actions.

Like many people, I got into nutrition searching for my own answers. For me, nutrition has always been about figuring out how to get more out of life. I have high expectations—I want more energy, more excitement, more delicious food and fun memories. But when I first got interested in nutrition, that desire felt at odds with the punitive nature of popular wellness culture (who here has done a juice cleanse!?). It took me a long time to figure out those two things weren't actually at odds and that nutrition works best when it’s delicious and fun.

I feel good sending these posts out every week because I do, in fact, feel good. Nutrition is always going to be an evolution, and I’ll forever be my #1 client. So instead of reflections: the most impactful things I’ve done for my wellbeing over the past few years (plus a few things I’m still working on).

I hate running, always have. I used to force myself to run 5k a few times a week and the whole thing was miserable, start to finish. I felt hungry all day, and didn’t get the runner’s body I thought I would. Now I lift (heavy!) 3x a week and it’s given me that lean, toned frame I wanted without having to actually run.

If you love running, no shade—I’m actually a little jealous. But strength training will help your running, and literally everything else in your life.

I eat at regular times every day and I don’t skip meals. It’s helped me meet my nutrition goals, manage craving, and feel more even throughout the day. One of my cardinal rules, for myself and everyone else: no skipped meals. It’s a lot harder to hit your protein on two meals than on three.

Having kids has actually really helped me be more consistent with my eating patterns. They’re on a schedule, which means I’m on one too. And weekends, which used to be a free-for-all, are a lot more structured with kids who also need three square meals at regular times.

The skeptics will say you don’t need an app to tell you you’re tired, and they’re 100% correct. But I find the data helpful in getting me to actually prioritize sleep. If your gas tank is nearing empty, you should know.

I have both an Oura Ring and an Eight Sleep (research, people!) and I like them for different reasons. The Oura is better at connecting your activity to your sleep. Eight Sleep uses temperature to optimize it, and I cannot explain to you the joy of getting into a crisp cool bed after a long hot day. Absolute heaven. The tracking is almost a bonus.

I now know when I’m in a sleep deficit, what my ideal sleep and wake times are, and how alcohol and a late dinner affect me. It’s helped me make micro adjustments—going to bed 30 minutes earlier, eating dinner earlier, and drinking less (and earlier) if at all. And sometimes I know the 8pm reservation isn’t going to be great for my sleep, and I go anyway, because having fun is important to me too (like last night).

I always aimed to have protein in my meals, but it wasn’t until I was pregnant with Freya that I started tracking, and I couldn’t believe the difference in how I felt. In my third trimester I was diligent about 120g a day and I had a mind blowing amount of energy. Quite the contrast to my third trimester with Ozzie.

I used to fight with food. Trying to delay eating, or eat less. It backfired 100% of the time, and it's a pattern I see with my clients too. Protein keeps you fuller longer, prevents overeating at the end of the day, and supports muscle growth. I know you're sick of hearing about it, but it's truly that important.

To be clear, I no longer track protein. I don’t need to. I eat regular meals and all of them have an anchor protein. Once it clicks you don’t need to meticulously track your food every day — and it doesn’t take long to get there.

Okay, to be fair I’m still working on this, but I do feel like things that used to really take my mind to terrible places don’t anymore. I guess that is just wisdom.

I know none of these are groundbreaking, but I’m a big believer in mastering the basics. And, of course, I don’t have it all figured out. We’re all works in progress and I like to have goals, big and small. So here’s what I want to focus on:

I know, I just said less cardio, but there’s a balance y’all. I’ve been all in on strength, but starting this week I’m adding the Norwegian 4x4 once a week. It’s four minutes hard, three minutes easy, four times through—it came out of a research group in Norway, hence the name. You can do this on a treadmill, bike, or rower. I started my birthday celebration yesterday with this, and it was hard. I immediately wanted to quick, but I did it and it felt good!

The point is VO2 max, which is basically how much oxygen your body can use when you’re working hard. It drops as you age, it’s one of the strongest markers we have for how long and how well people live, and intervals improve it faster than a steady state. Twenty-eight minutes a week seems like a good trade.

In addition to the Norwegian 4x4, I’m trying to get 150 minutes of zone 2+ cardio per week (the Norwegian counts as part of it). My Oura ring tracks this (an Apple watch will do this too). It’s not all about gym time—sometimes just doing activities with my kids gets my into zone 2, but I’ve found walking is mainly zone 1 for me.

Working for yourself and having a home office has it’s perks, but sometimes I feel like I never really shut off from work or family responsibilities. I’d like to be better at working during work time, and then putting it away when it’s family time.

I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to do this—more organization with he kids stuff, a better office setup, put my phone in a drawer in at night? If you have ideas, please let me know in the comments.

Trying to remind myself that a quick response is not always the most thoughtful. It’s okay to take a beat.

Sometimes I don’t see people outside of my family, clients on zoom, or the school drop off in a day. Honestly, I’d like for that to be different, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get dressed. If you’ve been here for a while, you know I love clothes. Call it frivolous (it is), but it helps me feel more confident, energized, and excited for the day—this to me, is incredibly valuable.

This is more like a treat, but I keep saying I’ll do this and I never do. I started yesterday with a birthday facial and it was the best. Like the actual best. My gift to myself is doing it regularly and keeping up with my red light and microcurrent (both of which I love but fell off with travel!).

Well well well, I guess I have a little sap in me, because I feel like I can’t end this post without letting you all know just how incredibly grateful I am for you. I love my work, and I wouldn’t be here writing about all this crazy shit without you all reading it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I have so much more to share, so as a little birthday gift I’m offering 50% off annual subscriptions with this link. The salmon with peach-corn relish coming Sunday is reason enough to subscribe:

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And if you’re interested in taking your nutrition forward, I do have some spots open for August nutrition coaching, and I’d love to meet you! You can learn more here.