In the pursuit of health and weight loss goals, we often focus primarily on food and exercise, but there's one essential element that is frequently overlooked: hydration. Water is not only vital for survival but plays a crucial role in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. In this blog post, we'll delve into the importance of proper hydration for your overall well-being and nutrition journey.
Hydration and HealthWater is the cornerstone of life, constituting about 60% of our body weight. Every system in our body depends on water to function properly. From regulating body temperature to aiding digestion and nutrient absorption, water is involved in virtually every physiological process.
When you're adequately hydrated, your body can efficiently remove waste and toxins, maintain a healthy metabolism, and support optimal organ function. Dehydration, on the other hand, can lead to a range of health issues, including headaches, fatigue, impaired cognitive function, and even more severe complications like kidney stones and urinary tract infections.
Hydration and Weight LossProper hydration is not only essential for overall health but also plays a significant role in weight loss and management. Here's how staying hydrated can support your weight loss goals:

1. Appetite Control: Sometimes, our bodies confuse thirst with hunger, leading us to eat when we're actually just thirsty. By staying hydrated, you can better distinguish between hunger and thirst cues, potentially reducing unnecessary calorie intake.
   
2. Boosting Metabolism: Drinking water can temporarily boost your metabolism, increasing the number of calories your body burns at rest. Research suggests that drinking water half an hour before meals can help you consume fewer calories, aiding weight loss efforts.
   
3. Enhanced Exercise Performance: Whether you're hitting the gym or going for a run, staying hydrated is crucial for optimal exercise performance. Water helps maintain electrolyte balance and regulates body temperature during physical activity, allowing you to exercise harder and longer, thus burning more calories.
   
4. Fat Loss Facilitation: Proper hydration supports the body's ability to metabolize fat. When you're dehydrated, your body may struggle to efficiently break down fat stores for energy, hindering weight loss progress.
   

Tips for Staying HydratedNow that we understand the importance of hydration for health and weight loss, let's explore some practical tips to ensure you're getting enough fluids throughout the day:

• Drink Plenty of Water: Aim to drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day, but individual needs may vary based on factors like age, weight, activity level, and climate.
  
• Include Water-Rich Foods: Incorporate hydrating foods like fruits (e.g., watermelon, oranges) and vegetables (e.g., cucumber, spinach) into your diet to increase your water intake.
  
• Set Reminders: Use smartphone apps or set alarms to remind yourself to drink water regularly, especially if you tend to forget.
  
• Track Your Intake: Keep track of how much water you're drinking each day to ensure you're meeting your hydration goals.
  
• Listen to Your Body: Pay attention to your body's signals and drink water whenever you feel thirsty, during and between meals, and especially during exercise.
  

In short....Proper hydration is a cornerstone of good health and is indispensable for achieving your weight loss goals. By staying hydrated, you support your body's physiological functions, enhance your metabolism, and improve exercise performance, all of which contribute to a successful weight loss journey. Make hydration a priority in your daily routine, and you'll reap the numerous benefits it has to offer, both for your health and your waistline. Cheers to a well-hydrated and healthier you!

We have talked in the past about the 4 different phases of macronutrient eating you should cycle through in a year. 1) Deficit 2) Maintenance 3) Surplus 4) Reverse Diet. Being in any 1 phase for an extended period of time can cause progress to stall. We want to keep our metabolism happy but also find way to challenge it throughout the year.
Typically - when you are looking to build muscle mass, or “bulk” as some call it, you want to be in a calorie surplus - meaning you’re eating over and above your caloric/macronutrient maintenance numbers. This does NOT mean go eat several tubs of ice cream a day. (wouldn’t THAT be nice?!) This is something that’s done more strategically.
You’d likely want to focus more on increasing your protein intake and then balancing out the carbs and fats while still making healthier, whole, nutrient dense food choices.
Now, in a “recomposition” we are looking to simultaneously lose fat mass while BUILDING muscle mass which means we are in a calorie deficit, yet attempting to build muscle. This is difficult. It is not impossible.
The reason this CAN work - fat mass and muscle mass are regulated in a somewhat independent matter. Muscle gain happens when we have the right balance of: regular resistance training, protein intake, and adequate energy to fuel our workouts (perfect balance of carb and fat intake, meal timing, sleep, water intake, etc.). Opposite to that, the amount of fat that we store is directly related to the amount of daily energy that is “left over” after all energy expenditure has been accounted for. In simpler terms - One can lift weights, eat enough protein, and get enough energy to build muscle while also losing fat by limiting calorie intake.
What’s an adequate amount of protein?
In the nutrition world, it’s suggested that we intake about .7-1g of protein per lb of body weight. Ex - you weigh 150, you eat 150 grams of protein a day. Protein can be the HARDEST macro nutrient to get in. I find that 99.9% of my clients that come to me are severely under eating in protein. Finding easy to access HIGH protein snacks that you can always have on hand is key.
How often do I workout?
I coach clients to at LEAST shoot for 3-4 days a week of solid resistance training. Remember - if it’s been awhile since you’ve worked out, start out slower. ALWAYS give yourself adequate rest days, do not put your body in a constant state of stress. Most importantly - if you are in a calorie deficit you WILL fatigue a lot faster. Meal timing will be everything. Put a bulk of your carbs with your pre workout meal to give you that much needed energy boost for a good lift. Pack in a TON of protein after your workout to repair and replenish those muscles.
QUALITY SLEEP IS EVERYTHING
No matter WHAT cycle you are in (deficit, maintenance, surplus, or reverse diet) - getting quality sleep can make ALL the difference in your success.
Things to also make sure you’re getting in:

• vitamins
  
• minerals
  
• water
  

If you want someone that has gone through ALL of these phases and knows exactly how to coach you through them, shoot me an email at [email protected] and let’s talk about how we can get you moving towards those goals once and for all.

Hormones - one of the biggest causes of weight fluctuation in your body.
When I onboard a first time client, one of the first questions I ask them is how recently they have had bloodwork done, specifically for their hormones. I really like to paint as detailed of a picture as I can of where my clients are at so that when I create their customized plan, I know it will work for them.
Why hormones? Well, let me tell you a little bit about these tricky little suckers and the role the play with weight loss…


Hormones and Over Eating:
When you eat sugar and processed foods, they affect hormone function by increasing inflammation and stress to the adrenal glands, putting you at risk of unintentional weight gain and severe hormonal imbalance. It's best to avoid these foods to improve hormonal health.
Hormones and Under Eating:
This can lead to low estrogen and progesterone in women, often accompanied by amenorrhea. Low-fat dieting creates system imbalances within the body by initially increasing insulin levels, in turn causing a cascade of hormone imbalances.


What does this mean?:
Essentially both throw your hormones out of whack and your hormones play a vital role in weight regulation.
Other things you may notice if your hormones are out of balance:

• Fatigue
  
• Constipation
  
• Depression or Anxiety
  
• Poor sleep
  
• Moodiness
  
• Hair Loss
  
• Unexplained weight gain/stagnation
  

Again, I always recommend clients over 35 or experiencing hormone imbalance issues see their primary for a full blood panel just to establish a baseline and make sure nothing else is coming in to play. However, eating a properly balanced diet COULD absolutely be the key to getting your hormones back on track and getting that weight to start trending in the right direction.
If you’ve been “stuck” and aren’t sure where to even begin, schedule a FREE consultation with me. Together we can decide what game plan could make the most sense for you.

Fun Fact - Sawana is no master chef. I am not creative, I rarely cook, I cannot be trusted in the kitchen. Think Carrie Bradshaw circa Sex in the City. That’s me.
Now, I CAN (for the most part) follow a good recipe whether its baking or cooking - and luckily there are several REALLY REALLY good macronutrient friendly “chefs” out there. My 2 favorite to follow on instagram are:
@‌macroswithem and @‌ohsnapmacros
Seriously, hop on insta right now and follow these ladies. Their meals and treats NEVER disappoint. Even my family loves their stuff.
With that being said, one does not always have time to cook/bake/etc. and it’s nice to have on hand some macro friendly snacks that satisfy both my salty and sweet cravings.
*Pro Tip - buy double of your favorite things and have them both at work and at home so that you’re ALWAYS set up for success. *


Salty Snacks:

• Pretzel Thins (I am obsessed with the everything but the bagel flavor, but they’re all good).
  
• Quest cheese crackers (a delicious cheez it knock off - for real!)
  
• Quest chips
  
• Wilde protein chips
  
• White cheddar rice cakes (add a triangle of laughing cow cheese for added deliciousness)
  
• Archer brand beef sticks
  
• Popcorn
  
• Sargento balanced breaks (I love the wheat thin and cheese one)
  

Sweet Snacks:

• Protein Oreo fluff. Yep I said it: 2 tbsp cheesecake pudding mix, 1 cup zero sugar cool whip, 4 Oreo thins, 1 cup greek yogurt of choice.
  
• Quest mini peanut butter cups
  
• Peanut butter protein dough: 1 scoop vanilla whey protein, 2 tbsp pb fit, 4 tbsp milk of choice (or water), 33 white Ghirardelli chocolate chips - put in the refrigerator for an hour then enjoy!
  
• Duncan Hines Keto Friendly Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
  
• ANY and ALL of the ghost protein flavors! Add some greek yogurt and blend then add a dollop of zero sugar cool whip on top for added decadence.
  
• Caramel rice cake, almond butter, zero sugar cool whip
  

BONUS: Almost always I concoct some sort of protein heavy treat to have at night before bed (see above ideas) and here’s why:
Protein before bed has been shown to:

• Accelerate weight loss
  
• Enhance sleep quality
  
• Lower fasting blood sugar levels
  
• Regulate metabolism
  
• Help build and preserve muscle
  

Remember - think of your palate, the flavors and foods you typically love, then come up with more macro friendly versions of them. You would be shocked at how many delicious recipes there are out there (peep the above IG influencers - seriously follow them NOW). The more you satisfy those typical flavor profiles that you crave, the more successful you will be sticking to your plan and reaching those goals!
Again, it’s not about being overly restrictive but about building a nutritional house that suits your needs and your lifestyle. With that being said, whole micronutrient dense food is always the better choice for our body - so why not find fun non-overwhelming ways to make some delicious and healthier versions of our fan faves?

I get asked this question a LOT by clients…
What do I do when I go out to eat? How do I measure? How do I track? How do I REALLY know what’s in my meal? How do I plan for success when I know i’m going to be eating my favorite super carb/fat heavy meal AND drinking?
Here’s my first and best advice - take a deep breath because it’s not going to be perfect, just do the best you can.
When we go out we have no control over cooking oils, amount of salt added in, portion sizes, and ingredients. All we can do is the best we can do and that’s it.
With that being said, there are some hacks that I teach my clients in order to help them be as successful as they can in sticking to their goals while still being able to enjoy themselves and be in the moment.
#1 - PLAN AHEAD. Yes, I realize I sound like a broken record in this, but this is the KEY to success in all things. Look up the menu in advance, decide what you will be having, log it, work the rest of your day around it and STICK TO YOUR PLAN.
#2 - Intermittent Fast that day. Knowing most restaurant food is going to be super carb and fat heavy and lacking in protein - I encourage clients to wait until around 12/1 to eat that day and to keep that meal low carb/fat, high protein. You can even toss your favorite flavored protein shake in your morning coffee to get some added protein in and give yourself some morning calories.
#3 - Reverse Engineer. When logging meals out, there’s always room for error. Do the best you can and log it by ingredient if you have to while utilizing the hand measuring method for portion sizes.
Hand Measuring Method:

• 1 cup = size of your closed fist
  
• 1/2 cup = 1/2 size of your closed fist
  
• 1 tbsp = thumb
  
• 1 tsp = finger tip
  
• 1 oz = inside circle of your palm
  
• 3 oz = entire palm
  

No, it’s not perfect, but it’s something. From there, deconstruct your meal.
For example. Having salmon, rice, veggies, and a glass of chardonnay? Log the salmon in ounces, the rice in cup sizes, the veggies in ounces, and the chard using the divide total cals by 4 rule we learned in our last blog post. Voila!
#4 MINDSET. This is the hardest to overcome. As a society we place a LOT of importance on food - particularly not good for us food. I cannot tell you how many times i’ve planned entire vacations around the food i’ll consume while i’m there. Shift your mindset. Is this meal out really about the food OR is it about the people you’re with and the memories you’ll make? When we start to see food as just fuel for our bodies to function optimally and place less value on it, we start to see progress.
#5 Jump back on the wagon. Blew it? It’s ok. We all have. We are human. Instead of letting that one “bad” meal turn in to a week, month, or year worth of “bad meals”, just get right back on track the next day. Learn the lesson that came with it and move forward, one foot in front of the other.

There is absolutely NO shortage of myths or “over simplifications” when it comes to weight loss. For times sake, i’m just going to tackle the 3 that I see the most when my clients come to me for coaching.
Myth 1 - 1200 calories a day. Here’s the deal - a calorie deficit CAN be a successful weight loss tool - but the amount of deficit you should be in varies by about a million different factors, including your age, activity level, current weight, goal weight, and so much more. A computer can do it’s best, but it completely lacks the human component and should not be used as a tool to tell you how and what to eat long term. Secondly, you cannot ALWAYS be in a deficit. I would say the majority of my clients are actually under eating when they come to me and as such, they’re not losing weight OR they’ve been gaining weight, they have severe hormone imbalances, and several other issues that are preventing them from reaching their goals. It’s a complete mind bleep* but your body NEEDS you to eat the right amount and right balance of protein/carbs/and fat to be able to lose weight/gain weight/maintain weight.
Myth 2 - Perfectly curated meal plans. Yes, I have paid for these. Yes i’ve “lost weight” on some of these, but they overwhelmed me, they didn’t work long term, and they didn’t fit in to my lifestyle. I’m talking about those meal plans some celebrity weight loss “guru” markets to you that tells you exactly what to eat for every meal, every day, down to the gram. It requires about 347 items from the grocery store each week (80% of the items seem to always be things i’ve never heard of and now have to hunt down) and requires HOURS in the kitchen every week meal prepping. This isn’t necessarily a “myth” - generally these plans do consist of super healthy micronutrient dense whole foods - but this plan does NOT fit in to my busy lifestyle and inevitably ALWAYS makes me feel like a failure.
Myth 3 - Working out every day. Nope. Don’t do it. Your body NEEDS rest. Have you ever experienced the “sick vacation” phenomenon? I have, several times. It’s this super fun thing where you finally go on vacation and as SOON as you get there, you’re sick as a dog. Know why? You are so go-go-go in your day-to-day life you hardly EVER give yourself rest. The second you go on vacation you’re FINALLY at rest and your body then releases all that stress it’s been holding on to, therefore over taxing your body and making you sick. If you do not give your body rest it WILL find a way to MAKE you rest. Guaranteed.
What are some of your favorite health and wellness myths that you’ve found to be counter productive for you?

Oh alcohol. One of the biggest stressors when it comes to weight loss.
There are so many facets to this - so I am going to attempt to tackle one at a time.
First, and arguably most important, know this. When it comes to your body, it can only process one thing out at a time in terms of toxins vs. fat loss. It is ALWAYS going to choose “life” first and therefore, process out the toxins first - meaning it takes longer to process out fat loss. Therefore, when you do choose to drink you may notice that scale increase for a few days, pending how “hog wild” you went.
With that being said - there are ways to make “better choices” when it comes to drinking.
Rule 1 - Keep it simple. The mixed high sugar drinks are going to take WAY more carbs out of your day on top of the alcohol. Stick to the simple stuff…
Blanco tequila, Vodka, Rum, Whiskey/Bourbon, or Gin are all great options coming in around 24-26 carbs per standard size serving. Drink them straight, or add water/soda water/lime/lemon for a little added taste that does’t sacrifice more carbs.
Rule 2 - Calculating the macros. When in My Fitness Pal you’ll often find that it will log your alcoholic beverage strictly in calorie total but not account for any of your macros. WAG Nutritions recommendation is to use the following calculation to track correctly:
Drink total calories / 4 = Total Carbohydrates
Ex: 200 Calorie Drink / 4 = 25 Carbohydrates

• You can also log it as fat by dividing the total calories by 9, but NEVER log as protein. Protein is far too important of a Macro to hit and we do not want to take away from our daily Protein goal with alcohol.
  

Rule 3 - Stick to your plan! Make a plan in advance of what you plan to drink and stick to it. One of the main issues when we consume alcohol is we lose our will power - we say “screw it” and 1 drink turns in to 2, 3, 6, etc. Even worse, we then make really poor food choices and over consume fats and carbohydrates. All a bad combo. Eliminate the guilt and shame the next day and stick to your guns.
Rule 4 - It’s about the core memories - not the alcohol. Oof - that hits. But truly, we use alcohol as a crutch in so many ways. Follow rule 3 above and make the event/vacation/girls night out/date night about the people you are with and the memories you are making. Not about the beverage you are drinking. If you MUST have something in your hand to make you feel more comfortable - choose a seltzer water with some lemon or lime.
I’m no snub to alcohol - believe me. But if we drink on a consistent basis we are making it pretty difficult for our body to reach those goals we are after. Find a way to balance the two. You’ll be glad that you did.

The comparison trap. One of the easiest traps to fall in to, especially in the beauty industry.
We could sit here and blame all the advertisements for the many differing beauty treatments available to us, or spanx, or lipo, or [insert any kind of body / face altering products and services available to us] BUT - is it really them?
Let’s be honest with ourselves. We see another woman who we deem as better than us in any 1 (or several) way(s) and we immediately assume that for whatever reason - it’s “easier for her”.
She must not have kids. She must be younger. She has a supportive spouse. She has more money. She only has 1 job instead of several. She only has 1 kid instead of 4. She doesn’t have any extra commitments on her schedule. The list goes on and on.
Is that true though? Really, we have absolutely no idea. Even if we are telling ourselves these things about someone fairly close to us that we think we know pretty well - we STILL don’t really know what goes on behind closed doors. We don’t know what demons she fights or what she had to do to get to where she is.
The hard truth that we just can’t seem to tell ourselves - it’s not them, it’s us. We are in complete control of our actions and what we spend our time on. We will spend our time on whatever we deem to be TRULY important. Nothing more. Nothing less.
OR we will distract ourselves by adding endless “crud” to our plate that isn’t really serving us in any way to keep ourselves from facing the things that we really SHOULD be spending our time on.
I know. This hits hard and is probably a little difficult to swallow. Anything uncomfortable is. It’s incredibly easy to stay comfortable - where we know we are “safe”. It’s HELLA hard to get uncomfortable and out of our shell.
Listen, I have done all of these things and I am certain I will again at some point. It’s human nature. I don’t say these things to hurt or shame you. I say them to challenge your thinking patterns and encourage you that you’re not alone.
So what do we do? How do we change our mindset and start working towards our goals that we so desperately want to achieve?
You just start. One step at a time. I promise i’m not over simplifying here, hear me out. Give yourself permission to be messy about it. It doesn’t have to be perfect - in fact, it almost never will be. Accept that and then begin. Tackle one small thing at a time.
The problem is you are too in your head. You have convinced yourself that you situation, whatever it is, has to be absolutely PERFECT in order to get off the ground. Every star needs to align, birds need to be singing, not a single “hitch” can be present.
That’s. Never. Going. To. Happen. Ever.
Control the controllable. The literal only thing you have complete and total control of ever is yourself = your emotions and your actions. YOU CAN set yourself up for success, you’re just afraid to fail.

​That’s completely valid. We are ALL afraid of failure. But - what if this time, you don’t fail? What if those goals you’ve been dreaming of for weeks/months/years/decades is FINALLY within your reach? What if you just need some support an encouragement along the way? What if you just need someone that’s walked this journey themselves and wants to see you win just as badly as you yourself want it?
If you want someone to walk with you side by side in your journey, email me at [email protected] I know where you’ve been. I know where you’re at now. And I know where you can go. I’ve got you.

Did you know…..
Researchers suggest that only 9% of Americans that make New Years Resolutions complete them. A staggering 23% are shown to quit by week 1 while 43% drop them by the end of January.
Among the most popular of Resolutions:

• Improved Fitness/Health - 48%
  
• Improved Finances - 38%
  
• Improved Mental Health - 36%
  

It’s hard to say the reasons these resolution-ers fall short. I’m certain a lot of different factors come in to play and i’d never presume to be able to tell someone else’s story.
What I will share with you are reasons that I have fallen short in the past when i’ve set goals and how I now combat those reasons.
First - I bite off more than I can chew.
Yep. Classic right? We get so sick of our current state, whatever it is (health/fitness, poorly managed finances, struggling relationships, etc.) that we get absolutely desperate to immediately achieve our end goal.
What happens when we dive in to the deep end when we don’t know how to swim? We drown.
Another reason I fall short - I get insanely critical of myself for each and every road block along the way. I don’t allow myself to be “messy”. I expect perfection.
This thought process does not serve us. It only leads to guilt, shame, and eventually - giving up.
How do I get past these? There’s really no secret sauce. I’m just as human as everyone else. One day I crush it, the next I want to crawl in to a hole.
Instead of focusing on perfection or a fast track to my end goal - I allow myself to improve just 1% each day.
I’m sure you’ve heard of this method. It’s used by many in varying fields, and for good reason.
With the 1% method - by the end of a year you’re 365% better. 365% closer to your goals/or have surpassed them and made new ones.
Without it - with the all or nothing approach - you’ve likely given up by week 2 and feel like absolute trash about it.
Which is better?
I encourage you - allow yourself to get messy in whatever process you’re in. That’s how we learn. That’s how we grow. That’s how we humanize ourselves and build community with others around us that see us and are facing similar giants.

One of the biggest hang ups i’ve come across for clients and macro tracking is the overwhelm and frustration they feel when going out to eat.
How do I make it work in my day? Do I bring a food scale with me? How can I still eat the delicious things I love without blowing my day? Will it make me gain all my weight back if I go over?
First - developing a new way to do something is absolutely always going to have a learning curve attached. Expecting perfection out of the gate is unreasonable and will only cause you constant frustration and disappointment.
Give yourself grace.
Allow yourself to be messy and have bumps along the way to your end goal. This is how we learn. This is how we sustain our success.
In my life there is no shortage of opportunities to go out for dinner or drinks. Date nights with my husband, family outings, girls night out, networking happy hours, special events, the list is endless.
I’m going to share with you my best advice for making these meals out work for you, rather than against you.

1. Prioritize (Often for me, more than one going out opportunity will pop up a week. Instead of having alcohol at every single one or eating a really high Carb/Fat meal, I prioritize which 1 of each is the most important for me to allot those calories to.)
   
2. Pack in the Protein (Knowing that most all restaurant meals will be heavy carbs and fat, I pack in my protein earlier in the day. This keeps me fuller longer, and ensures that I am getting in all the protein my body needs).
   
3. Intermittent Fast (When I know i’m going to my favorite pasta joint or chips and salsa are on the menu for the evening, I will wait until 12/1pm to have my first meal of the day. Again, i’ll keep my carbs and fat lower earlier in the day and increase my protein intake).
   
4. Plan ahead (I always check the menu in advance, pick what i’ll be getting, log it, work the rest of my day around it, and STICK to my plan).
   
5. Focus on the people, not the food. (My best advice. Shift the mindset around going out for a meal. Is it about the food and drinks or is it about the company you are with?)
   

Remember - this is most likely an entirely different way of thinking - it’s going to take a minute to settle in. The most successful people don’t allow 1 bad meal to turn in to 1 bad week, month, or year. They hop RIGHT back on the wagon the next day and get after it.
If you’re in a place where you’re ready to commit to yourself that this will be the year you put YOU first - send an email to me at [email protected]. I've got you. 
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