Vegetables are packed with micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) that are responsible for a lot of our bodily functions. They affect our mood, energy levels, how our muscles/organs function, how we sleep, and so much more. Red veggies help with heart health, yellow with skin health, orange with inflammation, green with cleansing your body, blue/purple veggies supply you with antioxidants, and white veggies help your immune system (the same goes for fruit by the way!).

Here is a little message I sent my clients about the holiday and some tips I try to live by during this time of year! Do not fear the holidays. How sad is that? I used to almost hate birthdays, Christmas, events because I felt like I was messing up. I didn’t want to see my family because I couldn’t control my food.

With Christmas approaching quickly, we know you’ll be attending a lot of parties, get-togethers, dinners, and more. Coach Manders has put together her best tips and advice for navigating the holiday parties. Because the last thing we want is for you to be nervous or anxious at this time of year. Hopefully, these tips will help you relax so you can truly enjoy yourself.

Check out The Ultimate Health & Nutrition Gift Guide!

Ah, The Holidays! It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s also when nutrition tends to become an afterthought for most folks for a few reasons…

This is a 30 day journaling & mindfulness project, designed to improve your relationship with food, abandon food guilt, & help you gain full control over your eating habits. Our goal is for you to come out of this more in tune with yourself, what is on your plate, & your eating behaviors. Your next 30 days with us are going to show you a lot about yourself, particularly your relationship with food. Each day, you will have a journaling prompt to complete, along with a mindfulness task to carry with you throughout the day.

New Year's resolutions are the traditions in which we commit to changing an undesired trait or behavior in ourselves, in order to accomplish a personal goal or otherwise improve our quality of life. Until I was 27 years old, my New Year’s Resolution was always weight loss related (along with 90% of the population) with the hope to get the holiday weight gain off. I set myself up for failure, year after year, starting in October, by throwing in the effort towel a little early. I would overindulge for nearly three months straight, only to waste a time meant for personal growth on superficial nonsense that was brought about by my own hand (and mouth).

Fats help us make hormones, and they're the most satiating macronutrient - they slow down digestion and keep us full.

Here are some quick, go-to options for carbs when you’re in a bind and don’t have time to cut up your own potatoes or wait 30 minutes for your rice to cook!

Sometimes, folks are so busy that can’t spend a few hours in the kitchen a week to food prep. Or, they aren’t Master Chefs (yet). I went scouring through the frozen foods section of a few grocery stores and found some quick go-to options. My hope is that these options alleviate some stress and help you guys with time management.

Our bodies need to recover. The harder you train, the more important it is to make time for it. Preventative care is so important, yet many of us wait until we’ve pushed ourselves too far. I hear it all too often, the frustration from clients who’ve suffered an injury because they weren’t proactive or they ran themselves into the ground. Recovering from an injury is stressful and a test of our mental strength. Trust me, I’ve been there myself.

By now you've probably heard over and over again how people need to decrease the amount of sodium they're consuming on a daily basis. Well, that’s all fine and good if we only really knew why sodium was important to keep in balance. I am much more apt to pay attention to vitamins and minerals that are either helpful or harmful to my health when I really understand how the body is responding to that mineral. So if you are anything like me and want to know what the big deal is about sodium, then I hope you find this helpful.

In 2008, my collegiate swimming career was coming to an end. By that point in time, it was coming somewhat as a welcome. I was just coming out of some serious issues with over-training syndrome and exercise addiction. But a large part of me was concerned about what my identity would be like without swimming. Outside of that, what was I to do as far as fitness and staying in shape? For 16 years I had grown accustomed to just wearing a Speedo to swim in. But would I have the audacity to ever put one back on if I couldn't look at least decent in it again? So many concerns were going through my head with the end of such a career…

Meal Prepping; The Stories I don’t have time. I don’t like eating the same thing all week. I don’t know-how. I can’t afford it. My family is too picky.

It’s 2:45 AM and I’m lying in my bed listening to my husband snore. My mind is racing - thoughts like “I’m never going to fall asleep”, and “my day is going to be ruined” stream across my mind. After flipping over onto my side for what feels like the thousandth time, I accept defeat. I lost the battle. I crawl out of bed, stomp downstairs, and flop onto the couch, much to the dismay of my 4-year old Rhodesian Ridgeback…

I’ve cycled through lots of extremes regarding my nutrition. I’ve gone years never thinking twice about what I consumed. I’ve gone through periods of intense bingeing, only to restrict for days on end. I have also lived on the other side of the extreme…

Need help eating out?! We’ve got you covered…

Check out this video How To Be Successful With Tracking Macros.

If your nutrition is a priority of yours (and I'm sure it is or you probably wouldn't be reading this) then I hope this list comes in handy. Whether you travel for work or pleasure and whether you're on a road trip or flying somewhere far away, having a plan is key.

The easiest way to stay on track with your diet is to plan ahead and meal prep. It's simple. If you have good healthy food cooked and ready to eat, you're more likely to stay on track. Has lunchtime ever rolled around and you forgot to pack food, so you wind up at a restaurant trying to make a healthy choice, only to get more food than you need or food that's cooked in too much oil, or loaded with dressing? Sure you can eat out and still eat healthy, but in the long run, packing your lunches and planning your dinners is going to help you achieve your goals a lot faster (and save you money).