Author: tylerk (Page 1 of 4)

Smash Your Scale!

September 1, 2017 / tylerk / 0 Comments

One of the first questions we ever get asked when we are starting our health journey, filling out paperwork, going to the doctor, etc. is “How much do you weigh?”

This is such a loaded question. Especially for women.

There is such a negative stigma on certain weights & there is so so much pressure for women to be a certain weight. We are constantly being reminded about it from our doctors, the media, our friends, our trainers, etc. Many of us have scales in our bathrooms that we step on on a daily basis.

One of the biggest challenges I give my clients at the beginning of our work together is to stop weighing themselves all the time. To get rid of the scale or better yet – smash it! Especially for those who are constantly focused on making sure that a certain number shows up on that scale every day.

There is way too much focus put on reaching a certain number that we really stress ourselves out. As we have talked about before, when we put ourselves into a stressed state, it can completely reverse any healthy habits you are working on.

When we are in a stressed state, our body produces extra hormones that store fat, our metabolism won’t work correctly and we will end up storing weight, our blood pressure goes up, and so much more.

So, I challenge you to smash your scale and to stop using your weight as an indicator of whether or not you are being healthy. Instead of focusing on the number on the scale, start focusing on how your energy level is. Focus on what healthy habits you are adding into your daily routine. Focus on eating foods that you love and that your body will also love. Focus on moving your body. Focus on feeding your body with self-love and positive thoughts & energy.

If you aren’t comfortable with getting rid of your scale, how about reducing the number of times you weigh yourself. And don’t forget that when you are starting a journey to health, you will oftentimes gain weight at the beginning & you will fluctuate a lot along the way. So many things play into that number on the scale (gaining muscle, water retention, hormones). Don’t be afraid to smash the scale & start measuring the facts that really matter.

Why we love NutritionFacts.org

August 30, 2017 / tylerk / 0 Comments

One of the hardest things about ‘getting healthy’ is all of the conflicting nutrition information out there. How do you know who to trust? How is it that we can go from one headline that says “Don’t eat butter” to another one that says “Eat butter” and make any sense of it?

When you start to follow nutrition studies, you quickly learn that many of them are funded by the very industries that are being promoted in the study. This conflict of interest presents all sorts of issues when it comes to getting truly accurate and unbiased information.

One of our favorite nutrition information resources is NutritionFacts.org.

The site is a strictly non-commercial, science-based public service provided by Dr. Michael Greger. Essentially, they review all of the latest nutrition research and deliver up free updates in bite-sized videos.

For years, Dr. Greger has been providing this service and over time, it has become an incredibly invaluable resource. You can go to NutritonFacts.org and search from a database of thousands of videos on nearly every aspect of healthy eating or any disease and you will find something to learn from as well as references back to the original study. In addition, they add new material every day. Most of the videos posted are about 3-minutes long and there are transcripts available if you prefer to read.

Dr. Greger is a physician – licensed as a general practitioner specializing in clinical nutrition. He is a New York Times bestselling author and internationally recognized speaker on nutrition, food safety, and public health issues. We’ve heard him speak several times and his best-selling book How Not to Die is definitely one to keep on your bookshelf as a reference guide. He’s actually quite funny and has a great sense of humor.

We love Dr. Greger and NutritionFacts.org because:

You can easily access evidence-based nutrition information that would be challenging to find on your own.
They are very thorough and objective.
While nutrition information can be dry, Dr. Greger makes it engaging. He also does great Facebook LIVE Q & A’s while walking on his treadmill each week.
100% of all proceeds Dr. Greger has ever received from his books, DVDs, and speaking engagements has always and will always be donated to the 501c3 nonprofit that runs NutritionFacts.org – that means no advertisers, no corporate sponsorship, nothing to sell.

If you want to start educating yourself about the latest in nutrition research and healthy eating, visit the site and sign up for their weekly email. Just watching these short videos and information each week will add up over time. You will always have something interesting to talk with to friends and you will begin to see patterns between the studies as well as actionable information you can apply to your eating habits right away.

Dr. Greger also just did his first PBS special based on his book How Not to Die. Definitely check it out.

What is Beautycounter?

August 21, 2017 / tylerk / 0 Comments

We spend a lot of time worry about what we put IN our bodies, but when is the last time you stopped to really consider what you put ON your body?

Our skin is our largest organ & yet, we rarely stop to think about the things we put on our skin on a daily basis. Before we get into why it’s such a problem, stop and think about it for a minute.

How many personal care products do you use on a daily basis? We’re talking soap, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, foundation, mascara, lipstick, toothpaste, deodorant. Really stop and think about it. Is it eight? Ten? Twelve?

The average person uses about 8-12 products.

Here’s the problem.

We have not passed a major federal law governing this industry since 1938. (That’s almost 100 years ago! Think of all of the things that have happened in the world since 1938.)

For one, we have introduced over 80,000 chemicals into the market – many of which have absolutely no safety data.

What’s worse is dangerous ingredients such as lead, formaldehyde, and phthalates are allowed in these products that we put on our bodies and on our kids every single day, day after day.

And, even if we were to find an issue with this, the FDA is not allowed to do anything about it.

There are no standards that dictate terms like organic or natural – which means if you are using products with these claims, they mean nothing.

Watch this quick 3-minute video to learn what’s going on & how you can help.

It’s time for a change – don’t you think?

Beautycounter is more than a beauty company. Their products are incredibly high-performing and beautiful, but it goes way beyond the products themselves. This company is leading a mission to get safer products into the hands of everyone.

We should not be asked to compromise our health in the name of beauty.

Let us show you some great swaps & introduce you to a brand that is changing beauty for the better.

Browse & Shop Here:

beautycounter.com/tylersmith

Move Your Body

August 7, 2017 / tylerk / 0 Comments

Have you ever told yourself when you want to lose a few pounds that you had better start exercising more?

The idea of exercise has turned into prescription of sorts and over time, it has actually become counterproductive and out of balance. We have been taught that in order to lose weight, we need to kill ourselves in our workouts. That we have to hit the treadmill for an hour a day. That we need to run or walk until we’ve hit the calories that we need to. That the only way to lose weight is to hire a personal trainer that will run us to the ground with burpees, sit-ups & Crossfit challenges. This kind of thinking has been engrained into our heads.

The reality is that when we over-exercise, we physically and mentally put our bodies into a stressed state. In this state of physiologic stress response, our bodies produce extra cortisol and insulin. When these hormones are produced in excess it actually signals the body to not build muscle, but to store fat. Thus, not losing weight, but storing it!

Some people thrive on intense exercise. They enjoy it & it’s a fun challenge for them. Others are only doing it to burn calories and are hating every minute of it. If this is you, then listen to your body! If you have any negative emotions towards intense exercise, then you are at more risk for having emotional stress during exercise and thus more adverse effects.

Instead, think about other ways you can move your body that you actually enjoy. There are so many possibilities! Hiking, yoga, sports, fast walking, etc. Think about it…our ancestors weren’t pumping iron & sprinting on treadmills everyday. Their life contained other forms of exercise. Yours can, too!

Even adding little things to your day will help reach your movement goal…parking further away, riding your bike instead of driving, stretching breaks, taking the stairs, all these little things add up!

Focus on moving your body instead of this definition of ‘exercise’ we have created.

Move your body, put yourself into a happy state, this is where weight loss will begin.

Beets to boost your endurance

February 14, 2016 / tylerk / 0 Comments

Beets. Beets. Beets.

If you are like me, then beets are definitely not on your list of preferred veggies. BUT they SHOULD be!

I’ve always heard that beets were good for endurance, but I was never really willing to try them as a pre-workout.

BUT one day, I decided to try it out by drinking a beet smoothie before my workout and let me tell you, it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

The workout turned out to be one of the best workouts I have ever had. My endurance was insane throughout the entire workout. I was able to run longer, do more reps in my sets, etc.

In fact, when I ended my workout, I still had energy! It was almost scary how great the beets worked.

Beets contain a lot of nitrates, which reduce the amount of oxygen required to produce energy, which means the body is able to perform more work using the same amount of energy as it would without the nitrates.

The science behind it is that nitrates are converted into nitric oxide, which causes blood vessels to relax and widen. This allows more oxygen-rich blood to flow through body. And the more oxygen reaches the muscles, the longer they’re able to perform at a higher intensity.

To top it off, beets have many other healthy benefits including: lowering blood pressure, encouraging healthy cholesterol levels, they contain a lot of antioxidants (which boost immune system), cleansing, and much more!

Anyways, all you have to do is cook the beets and then blend them up.

You could also juice the beet, but then you are not getting all of the other nutrients and fiber from the beet. The juicing will give you the benefit of the endurance, but like they say, if you eat something you should eat it in its entirety not just parts of it.

So, if your looking to get in a good workout, want some great nutrients, and want to avoid drinking the pre-workouts filled with chemicals and artificial flavoring/coloring, then go make yourself a beet smoothie!!