In difficult times, we can either tear ourselves down or build ourselves us up by the words we tell ourselves. Sometimes, our minds can be our worst enemies – we can convince ourselves that we aren’t capable or are unworthy before we even have a chance to prove to ourselves just how incredible we are.
The good news is we do not need encouragement from others to get through times like these. Just by changing the messages we speak to ourselves, we can empower ourselves to handle the challenges that come our way.
If you are currently in a season of stress in your life, give yourself some needed words of encouragement with these positive affirmations. Repeat them to yourself throughout the day, use them as your phone background, or print them out and hang them on your wall. And feel free to add them to your story or your favorite form of social media – spread the positivity!
Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product after clicking the associated link, I will earn a small commission off of that purchase.
Acne is something I have struggled since I hit puberty. I was always told it was something that would go away with adulthood, but thanks to a PCOS diagnosis, the acne seems to be here to stay.
One of the most visible symptoms of PCOS is acne. Because of the excess androgen levels, women with PCOS tend to have more trouble with skin health. Personally, I have tried multiple over-the-counter and prescription acne treatments, and none of them ever worked for me. The reason for this is because the only way to really solve the acne problem is to correct the hormone levels, which is easier said than done. After trying numerous birth control medications, I decided to do a little research to find a skincare regimen that would help me to at least manage my acne so breakouts became less severe.
As stated above, the skincare regimen below has not solved the problem, but when I follow it, breakouts occur less frequently. My skin looks the most beautiful it has in years. The best part about this regimen is it has erased many of the scars I had on my face from years of struggling with acne. For the first time in nearly a decade, I feel comfortable walking into public without having makeup on my face. I cannot even express how freeing that is.
If you struggle with PCOS, or if you are just looking for a more natural acne treatment regimen, I hope you find these products helpful. Please feel free to comment below if you have any questions regarding the products I have suggested, or if you have found a regimen that works for you! The more we share about PCOS and how we have found ways to cope with the symptoms, the more we empower the women around us to take charge of their health and to feel beautiful.
1. Boscia Detoxifying Black Cleanser
This charcoal cleanser is the first step in my face cleansing regimen. It detoxifies my skin and gets rid of all the dirt in my pores. In addition to my nightly routine, I often use this cleanser after my morning workout because my face instantly brightens after using it. I also love how the cleanser heats up as I use it – every time I wash my face with this product, it feels like an expensive spa treatment.
For a toner, I use Thayers Rose Petal Witch Hazel and Aloe Vera Formula Toner. It’s an alcohol-free, gentle toner made with natural ingredients. While I am cleaning my face, I like to know that I am not putting a lot of chemicals into my pores. This product also helps bring a little more moisture into my skin.
4. Tree of Life Retinol Serum
To really work at those scars and to heal my damaged skin, I use this retinol serum. It is made with natural ingredients and has been designed to be used by all skin types. I can honestly say this product has been a life-changer for me – it is the reason I finally feel confident in my skin.
5. Differin Gel
This is one of those over-the-counter acne treatments that is made to get the job done. Differin Gel is a little harsh, so I don’t recommend putting it everywhere on your face; instead, rub a small amount into your skin solely where you are currently having a breakout. This gel often makes my breakouts disappear by the following morning.
6. Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin
A lot of these products, including the charcoal cleanser, retinol serum, and Differin gel, can cause dry skin. As someone who already struggles with skin dryness, I knew lotion had to be a part of my regimen. I use Neutrogena’s oil-free moisturizer because it doesn’t clog my pores and it’s fragrance free. I strongly recommend finishing this facial regimen with lotion even if you aren’t prone to dry skin – even going a day or two without this step can cause my entire face to become red and irritated. But when I do use the lotion, my skin has never looked healthier.
Self-care is always essential, but now it seems even more important than ever. Stresses from back-to-school season, the election, and the looming holidays, all amid a global pandemic, are enough to make anyone feel tense.
Taking care of yourself is an important first step in making sure you can handle the stresses of daily life and still be able to give to others. Self-care is not selfish. It’s a way to make sure your needs are taken care of, so you are able to give more during your daily life.
Self-care looks different for everyone. For some of us, it’s taking hot bubble baths, reading books, or sipping a mug of hot tea. For others, it’s making time to visit with friends and family. And for some people, it’s making time to meal prep, write budgets, and create nightly routines that promote a good night’s rest. What’s important is not what the activity is, but rather that it helps you feel rejuvenated, relaxed, and ready to tackle your next life challenge.
If you aren’t sure what works best for you, check out the free printable below! You can use it simply as inspiration, or follow it for a new, self-care activity each day.
Supplements have been growing more popular in the health and fitness industry. The trouble is, there are so many out there, it can be difficult to know which ones are right for you.
It’s always best to get the majority of your nutrients from real food, but sometimes food alone can’t provide enough of these essential vitamins and minerals. This is where supplements come in. Supplements can help provide nutrients that you may be lacking in your diet, either because you are choosing not to eat the food source, or because you aren’t able to eat enough of it.
Keep reading to learn more about the supplements that can benefit the average person’s health. Remember, always consult your doctor before adding any supplements to your diet.
Fish Oil
The American diet is heavy in saturated fats. While these fats aren’t necessarily unhealthy, the human body performs better when there is a balance of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in the diet.
Fish oil supplements provide your needed daily value of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, so your body can work at its best. Additionally, fish oil supplements have been shown to support eye, heart and skin health, and they can help reduce inflammation in the body.
For best absorption, take your fish oil supplement with dinner or before bed.
Greens
It’s always best to consume your vegetables from whole food sources. However, there are occasions, either because of holidays, travel, or just unexpected changes in our dinner plans, when we don’t get in all of our servings of vegetables for the day.
Greens supplements are for these occasional days when you don’t get in enough veggies, so you can stay on track with your nutrition goals and your body can still work at its best.
Protein
Protein supplements are a lot like greens supplements – they are for those days when you don’t get enough of the macronutrient from food sources. On those days when your diet is off, either because of holidays or because you just haven’t made it to the grocery store for the week yet, or if you are an athlete who struggles to get enough protein into your diet, protein supplements are a great solution. Protein powder is an easy way to drink the nutrients you need so you can stay on track with your nutrition goals and keep your body performing at its best.
Multivitamn
It’s nearly impossible to have a perfect diet – to get in all the daily values of micronutrients we need would take way too much time and focus. Taking a daily multivitamin helps protect you from a multitude of nutrient deficiencies that are more commonly found in people who choose not to take this daily supplement.
Vitamin D
We all know spending time in the sun is important for our health. But with office jobs, stay-at-home orders, and sunscreen, it can be difficult to get enough sunshine in our lives. Vitamin D supplements can help. These supplements help strengthen our immune system and promote healthy bones and teeth, especially for children and older adults.
Not all supplements are created equal. Because of different laws and regulations, or lack thereof, in different countries, some companies are selling supplements that are not as high of quality and/or do not deliver the benefits they promise. For this reason, I recommend always doing your research about the company you purchase from, or, let me do the work for you. I work with Nature’s Sunshine, a reputable company that has been making quality supplements for over 50 years. If you are interested in purchasing a supplement, use this link to get 25% off your order!
Supplementation is a holistic way to take charge of your health. These five supplements listed above are ones the average person can benefit from using. However, if you are interested in learning more about your specific health and supplement needs, consider scheduling an appointment for a ZYTO scan.
ZYTO scans help us to look at an overall picture of your health. Based on that information, I am able to recommend supplements that will best help bring your body back into balance. It’s a more personalized and in-depth approach to holistic health that can help you feel and perform at your best.
If you are interested in scheduling a ZYTO scan, you can learn more & sign up for a FREE consultation here.
Unfortunately, that sentiment has created an industry focused far more on profit than individuals’ actual health, and that has caused many false claims about nutrition and physical fitness to be spread without control. Extreme views in the fitness and nutrition world have been celebrated because these lifestyles receive the most attention on social media, therefore they earn the most profit. However, this has caused balanced lifestyle choices to become less attractive as extreme workouts and eliminative diets grow most popular.
Balance, however, is very important in all areas of life, including physical fitness and nutrition. Extreme diets and workouts cannot only cause more damage than they do good; they can actually cause more stress and can have less success because people have trouble sticking to their unrealistic goals.
So, here are five common myths that have been spread in the fitness and nutrition industry, and healthier ways to actually approach creating a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
Myth #1: Carbs are not good for you
Despite the focus of the most recent fad diets, carbs are not actually bad for you.
There are a couple of reasons why carbohydrates are thought to be the main cause of weight gain. First, many carbs are calorically dense, so eating a lot of carbs can mean eating an excess of calories. Second, some carbs are high in refined sugar, which is known to cause inflammation and weight gain. Third, some people are very successful on a low-carb diet. People with a naturally large body type tend to function best when they eat more fats and less carbs. The thing is, not everyone who is overweight has a naturally large body shape – most people who are overweight just have an excess of fat. People who have a naturally large body shape (the endomorphic body type) are actually healthy at a larger size – think of football players or higher weight class wrestlers. The average body shape (a mesomorphic body type) actually functions best when they eat a balance of carbs and fats.
An excess of any macronutrient, whether it be carbs, fats or protein, can cause weight gain, not just carbohydrates. And there are plenty of healthy carbs that can be part of a balanced diet, such as whole-grain bread, fruit, and starchy vegetables like potatoes.
If you are trying to lose weight, minimizing your carb intake can be helpful, but drastic decreases in intake or complete elimination of carbs are not necessary for success. In fact, trying to stick to such a strict diet can harbor success, and eliminating necessary nutrients can make it harder to lose weight. So, instead of eliminating or drastically reducing your carb intake, aim for a balance between your carb, fat and protein intake and make sure you are eating healthier carb sources. Try to eat more carbs from whole food sources, such as fruit and starchy vegetables, and fewer carbs from packages. You may find that it’s not that carbs make you gain weight, but that you are eating too many of them or that you are eating carbs from unhealthier sources.
Myth #2: Doing a lot of high-intensity cardio exercise is the best way to lose weight
Cardio exercise is defined as any exercises that raises your heart and respiratory rate. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a healthy amount of exercise includes doing 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio, such as strength training, hiking or playing sports, for five days per week; or doing 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, such as running, bicycling or HIIT training, three days per week.
Many people seem to think that they have to elevate their heart rate to high levels during every workout in order to lose weight. However, having a balance of moderate cardio exercise and high-intensity cardio exercise during your week is the best way to achieve healthy weight loss. Strength training (a moderate cardio exercise) increases muscle mass, which in turn increases metabolic rate, which means you burn more calories throughout your day. In contrast to this, high-intensity calorie exercises burn lots of calories while doing the workout, but they don’t keep up that caloric burn throughout your day.
For the best results, try to include both high-intensity and moderate-intensity cardio exercise in your fitness program. If you are trying to lose weight, aim to include a total of at least five hours of physical activity in your week. This can include both cardio workouts and lower-intensity exercises, such as walking and yoga.
Myth #3: Eating 1,200 calories per day is a healthy way to lose weight
There are a lot of diets that promote restricting calories rather than just restricting one macronutrient to achieve weight loss goals.
Calories are a form of energy. How many calories a food has directly translates to how much energy it gives the body. The amount of calories a food has is determined by how much the body will increase in temperature when eating that food. According to US Department of Agriculture, “one Calorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water one degree Celsius.”
This is all very scientific, so unless you are pursuing a career in nutrition or biomedical science, it’s unlikely you need to understand how this works. What you do need to know is the higher in calories the food is, the more energy it is supposed to give the body. The reason this sometimes doesn’t work, though, is because heavily processed foods tend to be high in calories but low in nutritional value. This means that they will give your body lots of energy, but only for a short burst of time, which will cause you to become hungry again far sooner than you would have from eating a more nutritionally dense food. This can cause people to overeat. When people eat an excess of calories, meaning they eat more calories than they burn throughout their day, their energy balance is thrown off, therefore they gain weight.
This is the thinking behind low-calorie diets. By decreasing the amount of calories you eat in a day, you will create a negative energy balance, which means you will burn more calories than you eat. When this happens, you lose weight.
However, this doesn’t always work. When calorie intake gets too low, the body can go into “starvation mode.” When this happens, the metabolism, which helps you burn calories throughout your day, slows down in an effort to keep your body safe. When your metabolism slows, so does your weight loss. Eating a strict, low-calorie diet for a longer amount of time can also put the body at risk for a number of health conditions, such as hair loss, infertility, constipation, and hypoglycemia.
The reason the number of 1200 calories has grown in popularity is because this has been said to the be the minimum amount of calories your body needs to survive. This is true, but that does not mean it’s a good calorie amount to aim for. This is the amount of calories the body burns without doing anything else, which means if you do anything beyond lying in bed all day, you are going to burn more calories than this. In order to achieve a healthy, sustainable weight loss, it’s important that you eat fewer calories than you are burning, but not excessively fewer calories.
Rather than trying to figure out exactly how many calories your body needs to function, I recommend focusing on your macronutrient intake and exercise volume. When you sit down to eat, make sure your plate includes healthy fats, protein, vegetables, and nutritionally-dense carbs. This way, you will make sure that you are not only eating enough calories, but you are getting your calories from vitamin- and mineral-rich sources that will provide your body with the nutrients it needs to perform at its best. And rather than trying to restrict the amount you are eating, focus more on increasing the amount of activity in your day. This way, you will still be consuming all of the nutrients your body needs, but you will still be achieving a negative energy balance because you are burning more calories through your day. By focusing on your macronutrient intake and increasing your exercise volume, you will be able to achieve and sustainable, healthy weight loss and more attainable nutrition and fitness goals.
Myth #4: Cheat meals and days are a necessary part of a fitness program
Cheat meals are an interesting topic because for some people they are a great way to help them achieve their goals, and for others, they discourage goal attainment.
The thought behind cheat days and meals is that, if you spend one meal or day eating an excess of calories, it will jump-start your metabolism. This can work, but most people who have success with cheat days and meals are benefitting from the mental rather than the physical aspect. Regularly scheduling meals or days that they can eat freely helps people to stick to their daily nutrition goals because they know they will be able to eat more of what they want soon.
However, for some people, cheat meals and days work the opposite way. Because people have been restricting themselves so severely, when they are finally allowed the chance to eat something they want, they eat in excess. When this happens regularly, it can actually derail progress that happened during the rest of the week.
The one thing I don’t like about cheat meals and days is that they imply that eating less nutrient-dense foods is “cheating.” No one likes being a “cheater.” It’s a strict diet mindset that, I think, does more harm mentally than it does any good, mentally or physically.
The best advice I can give is to try to achieve a balance in your nutritional lifestyle regularly. When you see a food you want to eat that is less nutrient dense, enjoy the food, but then try to eat healthier throughout the day to achieve a balance in your eating. Find joy in giving your body foods that make it feel good, and then, on special occasions or when you are craving them, enjoy foods that delight your senses. When you focus more on what your body needs rather than restricting yourself from foods, you will find that your body often craves the foods that will best support it. Rather than incorporating cheat days and meals into a strict diet, focus on building a lifestyle that includes occasional treats and indulgences.
Myth #5: You have to push through pain in your workouts to achieve results
My fitness feed is often filled with quotes like “No pain, no gain,” written in dark letters against backgrounds of heavy weights. I see posts encouraging people to work harder by saying, “Pain is temporary, pride is forever,” and “Let’s see how far I can go.”“When my body shouts, ‘stop,’ my mind screams, ‘never,’” is another popular quote that I actually find alarming.
Let me explain the problem behind these quotes. They do have the power to motivate someone, but I think they often push people a little too far. When I first began my fitness journey, it was these quotes that ran through my head as I pushed myself to run just one extra mile, lift just one extra rep, or wake up just a little bit earlier to workout. And these can all be great things to do if you’re listening to your body and know the signs of when to push through a workout and when to give your body rest. For me, with little fitness experience at the time, it was these quotes that pushed me to fracture my leg during a run because of the stress I had put on it.
Unless you are an elite athlete pushing through intense competitions, pain should not be a regular feature of your workouts. You don’t need pain to grow your muscles; what is needed is discomfort.
What is the difference between pain and discomfort? Pain leads to injuries, while discomfort leads to growth. When you are just starting out with an exercise program, it can be difficult to tell the difference, but as you continue working out, it will become clear when your body is growing and when it is telling you to stop.
However, there are a couple of ways to determine whether you are experiencing pain or discomfort. Discomfort is eased as soon as you release the pressure you are holding on your body, either by dropping a weight or releasing a stretch. Discomfort can feel irritating, but it isn’t intense. It builds slowly during an exercise, and it goes away, or at least decreases dramatically, when you stop. Pain, on the other hand, is sharp and intense. It comes quickly and lingers even after you stop the exercise. Pain can affect your form, and it gets increasingly worse if you try to push through the workout.
If you are feeling discomfort, it is okay to continue to push through the exercise for a short while – this can lead to muscle growth and increased exercise adaptation. However, if you feel pain, stop the exercise. Giving your body the rest and recovery it needs can make the difference between a day off from the gym, or weeks to months recovering from an injury.
There is a lot of confusing, conflicting information in the fitness and nutrition world about how to approach a healthy lifestyle. The best advice I can give is to listen to your own body. It knows what it needs.
If you need some help navigating the plethora of information about health and wellness, or if you need some guidance in your fitness journey, contact me. Evolve is focused on achieving a healthy, balanced lifestyle through holistic wellness, mindful eating, and activity that fits your way of life.
If you are interested in personal training, nutrition coaching, life coaching, or ZYTO scans, fill out the form below.
Holistic wellness and medicine is gaining prominence in the medical and health community, and supplements are one of the main products at its core. However, with little regulation on these products, especially in the United States, and with so many supplements to choose from, it can be difficult to know what you need and what is actually going to work.
This is where ZYTO scans come into the equation.
ZYTO is an international company focused on producing software designed to give insight and guidance for health and wellness decisions. Founded in 2004 by Dr. Vaughn Cook, ZYTO is one of the leaders of biocommunicaton technology in the world.
My story
I have to admit, I was greatly skeptical of the ZYTO software the first time I came in contact with it. I had been struggling with chronic health issues for eight years, and it had gotten to the point that my digressing health consumed much of my energy and time. After multiple doctors had failed to successfully treat my diagnoses, or even realize what was wrong, I tried the ZYTO scan as a last ditch effort to improve my health.
After spending much of my life being poked and prodded with needles and more invasive procedures, the idea of having my health problems understood simply by placing my hand on a cradle seemed much too simplistic. When the scan was finished, I was given a long list of supplements recommended to bring my body to a more balanced state. Because neither the scan nor the supplements were covered by insurance, I disappointedly handed over hundreds of dollars that day with little hope that anything in my life would change.
However, after years of struggling to find help and a cure for my illness, it was only a mere two weeks after taking the supplements that I began to feel a difference. My irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and leaky gut symptoms improved, my headaches and body pain began to fade, and the heaviness I had felt for years started to lift away. I had more energy, a larger appetite, and a new zest for life. My mood improved, as did my capacity to mentally handle tasks that before had been challenging. As time went on, I began to be able to eat foods that before had been restricted from my diet, and I began to chase dreams that I had never thought possible, such as running across the country last summer.
How does a ZYTO scan work?
So, how does the ZYTO scan work? First, it’s important to recognize that the ZYTO scan is not a diagnostic tool. It is not meant to replace doctors or western medicine, but it is meant to serve alongside these other health modalities to create a holistic wellness program. The hope is that the supplements recommended will help support someone who is pursuing a healthy lifestyle.
To recommend supplements, the scan uses a galvanic skin response, which measures fluctuations in electrical conductivity of the skin. You may be familiar with this technology as it is used in lie detector, or polygraph, tests. Galvanic skin responses have also been used to do psychological research, psychotherapy, media and ad testing, usability testing, and neuroscience. By using a galvanic skin response, the ZYTO technology is able to tell if your body has a positive or negative response to different substances, including different foods, supplements, and health services, such as massage or chiropractic care. The ZYTO software analyzes the responses given to determine which of these foods, supplements and health modalities can help bring the body into a balanced, healthy state.
Is the ZYTO scan for me?
The best thing about a ZYTO scan is it can help anyone, no matter where they are in their health journey. Whether you are currently being treated for a medical diagnosis, working on losing weight or building muscle through personal training and/or nutrition coaching, or just trying to live a healthier lifestyle, the ZYTO scan is a tool that will only benefit your health journey. It serves alongside your current medical and health treatments to better help you achieve your goals and have a healthy lifestyle.
Getting a ZYTO scan
If you are interested in getting a ZYTO scan, or just learning more about the technology and what getting a scan looks like, consider using Evolve. I offer ZYTO scans at a competitive, affordable price because I strongly believe everyone should have access to becoming their healthiest self. I work with Nature’s Sunshine, a reputable supplement company that has been offering affordable, high-quality supplements for 50 years. Most importantly, though, I want to work with you. Getting a scan with Evolve means that your health goals and personal lifestyle will always be taken into account, and the supplements I recommend will always be secondary to suggesting dietary and lifestyle changes that will help you achieve the life you want without having to buy anything. My goal is always to help you become the healthiest, happiest version of yourself through the most natural means possible.
To learn more & schedule a FREE 15-minute consultation, click here.
Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product after clicking the associated link, I will earn a small commission off of that purchase.
One of my favorite things about summer is the fresh produce. I love walking into my own backyard and finding inspiration for cooking from the vegetables in my garden. And one of my favorite vegetables is zucchini. It’s so versatile – it’s delicious baked, fried, steamed, or sauteéd, and it can be used a number of ways in dishes, from zoodles to zucchini bread.
Lately, my garden has been giving me zucchini the size of baseball bats, so I decided to use its size to my advantage and make the vegetable the star of my dish. Zucchini boats were the first recipe that came to mind.
Zucchini boats are a favorite of mine because they can be used in any type of cuisine. The zucchini simply acts as the vehicle for whatever you would rather be eating. It’s a low-carb way to make a filling, nutritious, vegetable-packed meal.
Because I had marinara sauce sitting in my cupboard, I decided to go with an Italian spin for tonight’s dinner. Below is the recipe I created, but feel free to experiment with your favorite flavors and the ingredients you have in your cupboard. The oven temperature and cooking times should be relatively stable for just about any filling options.
I hope you enjoy the recipe! Please feel free to leave me a comment about how the recipe turned out for you, or to share your favorite way to make zucchini boats.
Italian Zucchini Boats
Makes: 2 generous servings
Ingredients:
1 zucchini (my zucchini are so big, I used half of one – like I said, they are the size of baseball bats)
1 cup marinara sauce (for a low-FODMAP option, I used Rao’s Homemade Sensitive Marinara sauce – it’s so delicious, you will never miss the onion and garlic)
8oz cooked chicken breast, chopped, or ground chicken (see Notes for how I baked my chicken breast)
2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray.
Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds, leaving the ends intact to create small “boats” (this is to make sure the filling does not pour out the sides while baking).
In a medium-sized bowl, combine cooked chicken, marinara sauce, and 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese. Fill the zucchini with the mixture.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until a fork inserts easily into the zucchini.
Sprinkle zucchini with remaining 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake for another two minutes, or until the cheese melts.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.
Notes:
The best way I have found to cook moist, delicious chicken breasts is to place them in a baking dish coated in cooking spray and then cover them with parchment paper. Bake the chicken breasts at 400 degrees F for 40 minutes. It’s cooked perfectly every single time. For this recipe, I rubbed my chicken breasts with Italian seasoning before baking.
“Without Tyler Didra, I certainly would not be where I am today. Today, I am in charge of my own health, nutrition, and fitness goals. I first sought out Tyler after seeing advertisements for her on campus at Stevenson University. I was on the verge of an eating disorder and a heartbreaking tear from my family who at the time did not know how to properly encourage my weight loss goals. Having a myriad of health problems and physical immobility challenges, Tyler tailored each aspect of her services directly to me. Half-way throughout personal training season, I had ankle surgery and Tyler jumped at the chance to customize my exercise program to chair positions, sitting kick-boxing, and non-weight bearing drills.
“My biggest challenge before experiencing Tyler’s phenomenal training was fear of the gym and a general lack of education regarding both nutrition and physical fitness. I would have never stepped into a gym before Tyler encouraged me it wasn’t such a scary place after all. My body is completely different than it was three years ago; healthy, muscular, confident, and flexible. We started our journey together understanding food groups, different types of workouts, and how to live confidently. Over time she helped me graduate to yoga and today I am strong enough to challenge myself bi-weekly to Barre classes. She took an ankle that was unbearable to walk on and helped me strengthen it to this day where I can walk, run, and even do the most complex ankle yoga-poses.
“Tyler is a joy to her clients and each member of her Stevenson University fitness classes. From Yoga, to Pilates, and Women on Weights, she inspires young men and women to branch out and try something new to further challenge their minds and bodies. I give her my highest praise and openly endorse each and every one of her services from ZYTO scans, personal training, nutrition coaching, and group fitness classes. Because of her, I live an active and healthy lifestyle led by my own personal choices and goals.”
I remember when the ground turkey craze first started. Finally, there was a viable, healthy alternative to eating chicken in every meal. Ground turkey became the new star of so many of my favorite dishes.
The only problem was, while ground turkey seemed to make a great substitute for beef, it just didn’t possess the same level of flavor. In some dishes, like spaghetti, I was able to mask the lack of flavor from the turkey with the richness of other ingredients. However, any dish where the turkey was supposed to be the star always ended up being disappointing.
Burgers were the dish that disappointed me the most. I have fond memories from my childhood of lazy summer afternoons, my father grilling succulent burgers on the back deck. I wanted to be able to experience that delicious flavor again, but still be loving my body while eating it.
Now, I have the answer. After years, I am surprised to say that I have discovered a low-FODMAP way to create the best turkey burgers I have ever tasted.
This discovery was made with my fiancé, Joseph, while we were grilling this summer. He had decided to start eating turkey burgers as a healthier alternative, and I was attempting turkey burgers again because the low-FODMAP diet made my veggie burgers now a forbidden food (I must bid a sad farewell to my favorite MorningStar burgers).
I found a simple burger seasoning recipe online, and after tweaking the ingredients a little, it was a low-FODMAP achievement that deserves a spot in every cookbook. The secret is this: Instead of mixing the seasoning into the meat, Joseph had the brilliant idea of using it as a rub on the already-formed, raw burger patties. The result is a spicy, flavorful, succulent burger that dares to compete with the burgers from my childhood.
Check out the recipe below, and leave me a comment about what you think! I would love to hear how they turned out for you, and your favorite ways to use ground turkey.
Low-FODMAP Turkey Burgers
Makes: 4 burgers
Ingredients:
1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Directions:
Mix seasonings together in a small bowl.
Form turkey into four patties. Spread the seasoning evenly over each patty, then rub the seasoning over the surface of the meat.
Grill to your desired level of doneness. Enjoy!
Notes:
The thicker the burgers, the more juicy and succulent they are. We have found that making four burgers out of one pound of meat is the perfect amount.
The seasoning recipe was originally inspired by the Easy Burger Seasoning Blend recipe on The Spruce Eats. If you aren’t restricted by a low-FODMAP diet, check out their recipe – it just adds a little garlic and onion, which I am sure would be a delicious addition.
It’s not about being thin. It’s not about the before and after photos. It’s not about the muscle definition, the mile time, or the amount of weight lifted.
It’s about finding balance. It’s about loving yourself. It’s about evolving into the healthiest version of you.
For me, it’s been a long journey, and it’s not even close to being over. I started out overweight and riddled with pain from fibromyalgia. I was inactive, and my diet consisted of mostly processed foods. But most importantly, I despised myself. Physically, mentally and spiritually, I was at my lowest.
When I started trying to get active, the first type of exercise I tried was yoga. It was a low-impact way to stretch my muscles and show my body some love.
But then, my exercise grew more intense. And as it did, the amount I was eating continued to decrease. I found myself growing weaker and weaker, until I was only a shell of the person I had been.
There has to be a balance. You have to feed yourself, physically, mentally and spiritually, to be healthy. That means eating the things that make your body happy and that also bring you joy. It means moving in ways that show your body the love it deserves. It means filling your soul and mind with inspiring, positive messages that fill you in ways that food cannot.
It’s not easy. It’s something we all constantly have to work on. But perhaps I can help you get started.
Check out my Evolve social media for some inspiration, recipes and exercises to get you started. If you have any questions, send me a direct message on any of my social media accounts or comment below. I would love to talk with you more.
