3 Easy Egg-Free Elimination Diet Breakfast Ideas
Here are three of my favorite egg-free breakfast options that are great to eat while on an elimination diet or whenever you have to eliminate eggs from your diet because of an allergy, sensitivity or other gut health issue.
So many of us start our day with a big plate of eggs, and if you are like me, you also have a little avocado toast too. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut of eating the same meal over and over, so it can get a little confusing about what to eat when it’s time to start an elimination diet and you are removing eggs for a short time.
In the past, I've gotten several questions on how to eat an egg-free breakfast during the 30-Day Beat Belly Bloat program, where we use the elimination diet to discover your flat belly blueprint.
There are so many other great breakfast options available that are equally delicious and filling! There is one thing we NEVER do during the program, and that is starve. We believe only in nourishing your body so you can discover foods that may be causing inflammation and preventing you from losing fat. So I want to share three of my favorite egg-free breakfast options that are great to eat while on an elimination diet.
But first, what is the elimination diet?
The Elimination Diet is an approach used by the Functional Medicine community, health practitioners, and nutritionists to figure out which foods you have a food sensitivity or food intolerance to. This is done by eating an anti-inflammatory diet, removing a specific group of foods such as corn, gluten, eggs, soy, dairy, etc. that are known to cause issues, allowing the body to remove any symptoms it may have. Later, you reintroduce these foods one at a time to note any reactions, creating a personalized eating plan.
Having this information about your individual health is important to understand so that you can eat mindfully, keep your digestive symptoms at bay, start healing your gut, and lose fat. So many benefits!
3 Easy Egg-Free Elimination Diet Breakfast Ideas:
The oatmeal breakfast bowl - my personal favorite for a hearty breakfast!
1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats (sprouted oats are best for digestability)
cinnamon to taste
dash salt
stevia to taste
1 Tbsp nut butter (sunflower butter or almond - if not eliminating tree nuts)
1/2 serving walnuts (15g)
1 banana
2 servings grass-fed collagen
optional 1 Tbsp cacao nibs
In a bowl, add 1/2 cup rolled oats, a dash of salt and 1 cup of water. Cook oatmeal on the stove or in the microwave according to the oatmeal package. Once cooked, stir in collagen and stevia then top with additional toppings. You can also make as overnight oats to make life even easier. Get creative with it!
Berry Banana Protein Smoothie:
1-2 scoops protein powder (I love chocolate Designs for Sport: Beef Protein in chocolate (use code AWAKENED10 for 10% off using my affiliate link)
1/2-1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. nut butter (sugar-free sunbutter or raw almond butter)
1/2 cup blueberries
1/3 cup strawberries
1/2 or whole banana
stevia to taste (I like NOW Foods brand)
1 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk
Optional: 1 Tbsp cacao nibs
Blend well, and enjoy! Make sure to chew your smoothie to get your digestive enzymes working!
Chicken Sweet Italian Sausage and Sweet Potato:
1 organic chicken sausage link cut into slices (check for minimal ingredients, free of dairy, gluten and soy) - we like the Sabatinos Paleo Chicken sausage from Costco
1/2 sliced bell pepper
1 medium sweet potato
1/2 Tbsp avocado oil + more for sautéing or use avocado oil spray
salt and pepper to taste + add any other herbs for sautéing the bell peppers
In a small skillet, add 1/2 Tbsp of avocado oil on medium heat. Add sliced bell pepper, salt, pepper, and thyme, sauté for about a minute. Then add sliced chicken sausage and sauté in a pan until both sides are brown. Once cooked, remove from heat and add to plate.
Wash sweet potatoes, either microwave them in a dish with a little water and cover with a wet paper towel, or if you have time, bake them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. Once the potato is fully cooked, slice open the top and add avocado or extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Other optional additions are sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes, butternut squash, spinach, or avocado. Get creative with it and enjoy!
So there you have it! Three of my favorite egg-free breakfasts that are sure to taste amazing plus keep you feeling full while doing the elimination diet!
One thing to remember is that elimination diets are very customizable for each individual so just be sure to check to make sure you are allowed to eat the ingredients in these meals before you start cooking!
Leave a comment below and let me know which breakfast idea is your favorite or share your favorite breakfast!
Learn How to Stop Bloat From Happening
Want to reduce inflammation and lose fat for good? Start by downloading our free guide: 5 Easy Steps to Beating Belly Bloat!
We are Chris and Amber, a husband and wife team dedicated to helping you improve your nutritional and personal fitness habits for a better lifestyle. If you have issues with bloating, inability to lose fat, brain fog, or are in need of a proven nutrition and fitness plan to get you out of a rut, then sign up for our 30-Day Beat Belly Bloat Program today!
Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie Protein Shake (soy-free)
This is an easy-to-make, high-protein pumpkin pie smoothie that is dairy-free and tastes amazing! It’s packed with gut health-boosting collagen, healthy fats and has 37g of protein (or more depending which brand of collagen you use)!
This is an easy-to-make, high-protein pumpkin pie smoothie that will give you all the fall vibes! It’s packed with gut health-boosting collagen, healthy fats and has 37g of protein (or more depending which brand of collagen you use)!
This fall, I was invited to a member appreciation night at my local Hotworx where all of us health practitioners and beauty vendors were able to share our services with other members. I whipped up this pumpkin protein shake recipe to serve to members who were just getting done with their workouts and it was a huge hit!
Everyone was blown away by how delicious it tasted. I think one thing that made this pumpkin protein smoothie such a hit is that it actually tastes like pumpkin, and even though it does have half a banana, you can’t taste it at all.
I loved sharing this smoothie with my fellow gym goers so they could see how to get a high amount of supplemental protein in a meal with a smoothie. This smoothie would be great for breakfast, as a snack, or pre or post-workout meal.
Why do we need to eat enough protein daily? Protein is vital to good health, it’s often called the building block of life and for good reason…you literally can’t survive without it. Protein is in every cell of your body and it’s critical that you have enough each day for your body to build and repair cells. Protein is also an important component of your bones, muscles, tendons, cartilage, skin, blood and more.
Having a high protein intake per day is important overall but especially as you age because you now have a much higher protein requirement to maintain muscle mass - mainly because your system is no longer dominated by hormones like when you were young. Yet many people eat much lower amounts of protein as they age because they look at it negatively for various reasons (or appetite decreases over time), rather than them looking at the massive benefits that protein provides.
The goal as you age is to maximize muscle protein synthesis so that you can preserve lean tissue - over time, it will help with strength, bone health and other essential functions keeping you mobile and balanced.
What makes protein so special? Protein is an essential nutrient that is made up of 20 building blocks known as amino acids. 9 of the 20 are essential amino acids meaning the body cannot make them on its own and we must get them from quality protein sources in our diet. The other 11 amino acids can be created by the body, making them non-essential amino acids.
We must obtain the 9 essential amino acids from mainly animal and some plant sources…but it’s important to note that most plant proteins are not a “complete protein” and are not as bioavailable as animal proteins due to the amino acid profile, as well as issues with digestion and absorption. Because of this, you essentially need to just about double the amount of plant proteins to get enough quality protein your body can utilize.
This shake is made up mostly of plant proteins, as well as protein from bovine collagen so it provides MOST of the essential amino acids. But have no fear, because if you have a well-rounded diet of mainly animal proteins mixed with some plant protein, you should be able to achieve the amount of protein and essential amino acids to achieve your daily needs.
Before we get to this recipe, you’re probably wondering how you can insure that you are getting enough protein per day. The studies that look at protein intake and gaining muscle mass vary from 0.8-1.0+ gram per pound bodyweight, so it’s safe to say a balanced approach would be most beneficial, so around 1g per pound bodyweight is highly effective.
High Protein Pumpkin Pie Protein Shake (soy-free & dairy-free)
1 serving protein powder, such as Thorne MediBolic Cinnamon (18g of protein) or Designs for Sport Beef Protein Vanilla Use affiliate code AWAKENED10 for 10% off (21g of protein - If you choose a vanilla protein powder, add cinnamon to the smoothie)
1 serving Great Lakes collagen powder (11g of protein) or Vital Collagen (18g of protein)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 frozen banana
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut or almond milk
1-2 Tbsps nut butter (almond butter, sunflower butter, etc.)
Stevia powder to taste
Add ice, blend and enjoy!
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Healthy Air Fryer Chicken Tenders (soy, dairy & gluten-free)
Are chicken tenders healthy? Not so much. Even though you get the protein benefits, they are often deep-fried. But with this healthy air fryer chicken tender recipe, you can still enjoy your tenders in a healthy way!
Coming from the south, I grew up on fried chicken but since going soy and dairy-free plus limiting my gluten intake, I haven't had much room in my life for fried chicken. Not to mention it doesn't do my waistline much good since I mostly try to eat in a way that keeps inflammation low because too much inflammation can cause weight gain and also prevent you from losing fat. I surely don’t need any help in that department!
Fried foods in general are a very high inflammatory food because of the unhealthy cooking oils used to fry the food. I’ve been eating this way for about 11 years so I really haven't missed fried foods much and on the rare instance when I do, I will have a fun meal out on the weekend and then go back to my healthy way of eating the next day.
But over the last couple years, the air fryer has made it much easier to enjoy fried-style foods but without the added fat and oil that comes with deep frying. I mostly use my air fryer to make vegetables like yellow squash during my weekly meal prep but it’s been fun to make healthier French fries and “fried” chicken tenders.
A couple months back, I found these panko style gluten-free rice crumbs from Trader Joe’s. Since then, I've been trying to perfect my gluten-free panko air fryer chicken tender recipe seasoned with everything bagel season. It’s a really simple recipe that you can really make your own depending on your personal taste since you can season any way you want!
For this recipe, I have not included exact ingredient amounts for the crumbs and seasoning because the amounts will really depend on how much chicken you are using. I normally get a bag of the frozen chicken breast tenders at Trader Joe’s and thaw out 6-12 and make them in 1-2 batches.
You don’t want your chicken to be crowded inside the air fryer so you should space them out that way they get nice and crispy. This is why I will usually do 2 batches if I am using more than 6 tenders.
Also, my air fryer is a 6 Qt. size so it can fit a good amount of food at one time but if your air fryer is smaller than that, you might have to do several batches depending how much chicken you make at once.
Gluten-Free Healthy Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
Ingredients:
6-12 chicken breast tenders
1-2 eggs
Trader Joe’s Gluten-Free Rice Crumbs
Salt and pepper
Everything bagel seasoning
Cayanne pepper
Garlic powder
Instructions:
In a bowl, scramble 1 egg about 6 tenders or use 2 eggs if you are making 6-12 tenders.
Spray the bottom of your air fryer pan with olive or avocado oil and set to the side.
In a separate bowl, mix the TJ’s rice crumbs, garlic, cayenne pepper, everything bagel seasoning or any other seasoning combo of your choosing. Go heavy on the seasoning to make sure you have enough to cover all of your chicken!
Use either thawed chicken breast tenders or get chicken breast and cut them into strips. Salt and pepper the raw chicken, then dip chicken into scrambled egg, flip it a couple times to cover it really well.
Then dip the chicken into crumb mixture, roll several times to cover them well with the mixture.
Once coated with crumb mixture, add the chicken to the air fryer pan, salt lightly, add additional everything bagel seasoning, and spray the top of chicken lightly with olive or avocado oil.
Set air fryer to 400° and cook 5-6 minutes per side. Internal chicken should reach 165° and the outside should be crispy and lightly browned.
Get ready to enjoy some deliciously healthy, dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, NON-deep fried tenders! 😍
As an added bonus, when you are craving some chicken and waffles like Chris and I were this weekend, you can make this healthy version paired with some protein waffles and coconut whip topping and feel pretty dang good about yourself after!
Easy Weekly Meal Prep: Instant Pot Salsa Shredded Chicken
Learn how to make this easy Instant Pot salsa shredded chicken and get some ideas on how to incorporate it into lunch and dinner dishes.
This post contains affiliate links meaning we earn a commission if you use those links.
Confession time!! I don’t think I’ve used our oven since cooking Christmas dinner (yes, we are in April now 😜) and I’m totally ok with that!
One practice that Chris and I have done for years is weekly meal prep to stay on top of our health and fitness goals. Eating healthy, soy- and dairy-free, plus managing my weight is SO much easier when I have my food prepared.
For years when my schedule was super busy, I would spend a few hours 1 day a week cooking all my food at once and putting pre-portioned meals into containers so I was prepared all week.
But now, I usually just cook large batches of protein and vegetables to keep on hand in the fridge so I can throw together a quick and delicious meal any time. Either meal prep option is great, you just have to find what method fits your lifestyle.
Having these prepped foods ready to go is especially helpful because I often practice carb cycling, meaning some days I eat low carb, higher protein, and fat, and then other days I eat regular macros of higher carb, higher protein, and lower fat.
But no matter what your eating preference is, meal prep of some sort is super beneficial because you can control what you eat and it saves you money because you aren’t eating out all of the time—bonus!!
Lately, I’ve been pretty much cooking all my protein, such as chicken, pork tenderloin, and beef brisket, in my 8 quart Instant Pot and all my veggies, like zucchini, yellow squash, and carrots, in the air fryer. Chris has even joined in on the new meal prep fun because it is so easy and delicious, and we love not having to do a ton of clean-up after.
Here are 4 examples of meals I create with Instant Pot salsa shredded chicken:
The 2 meals below are examples of similar lower-carb day meals I often make that are bursting with flavor and keep me full for several hours.
Meals 1 & 2: I add 5-6oz of salsa shredded chicken, air-fried zucchini, cauliflower, and carrots, and top with walnuts, kalamata or black olives, jalapeños, and avocado, occasionally sprinkled with “everything bagel” seasoning from either Trader Joe’s or Costco 🥑. I love creating more flavorful meals because for a while, I was starting to get into a little food rut and no one likes eating boring-tasting food.
The next two meals below are examples of meals I would eat on a regular macro day as they have more carbohydrates.
Meal 1: 5-6oz salsa shredded chicken, 1 cup of jasmine rice, coconut aminos (a delicious soy-free replacement for soy sauce), air-fried carrots, zucchini, jalapeños, and 1/4 slice of avocado.
Meal 2: Sliced organic sourdough bread topped with mashed avocado, sliced tomatoes, salsa shredded chicken, and “everything bagel” seasoning. So good!!
Quick tips when making your salsa shredded chicken
The salsa in this recipe is very subtle so you’re not stuck with eating Mexican-style meals such as tacos all week if you don’t want to. I’ve actually made many different flavored dishes with this chicken, such as soups like ramen, added it to my cauliflower gnocchi, thrown it together with veggies, and topped my avocado toast with it.
Another variation I’ve made if I don’t have salsa on hand is using marinara sauce instead and Chris has also used BBQ sauce. I would suggest with both of those substitutions that you add more sauce when cooking and a little additional water, maybe 1/3 to 1/2 cup, so your Instant Pot doesn’t flash the burn warning at you.
Instant Pot Salsa Shredded Chicken:
This recipe is so easy! Find the full recipe at the bottom of the page, below the photos!
Spray the Instant Pot lightly with avocado oil. Season both sides of your chicken breasts and add them to your Instant Pot. Pour salsa over the chicken to cover most of the top of each breast. Put the lid on, close the valve knob to the sealed position, and cook on the pressure cook setting for 13 minutes.
Once your timer goes off, let the chicken sit for about 10 minutes before turning the valve to quick release. Add chicken to a plate to shred with 2 forks or this amazing claw shredder. I will usually knock off a little bit of the salsa back into the pot before I put it on the plate to shred but it’s not necessary.
Once shredded, add it back into the Instant Pot, mix with the juices, add additional salt and pepper if desired, and then let it marinate on warm setting with the lid closed for a while. If there is too much liquid, you can also turn on the sauté function for a few minutes to evaporate some of the liquid.
When ready, eat and enjoy or add to a dish to let cool then store it in the fridge for your weekly meal prep.
Depending on your salsa, there will most likely be extra liquid in the bottom of the pot. You can choose to discard this or store it with your chicken for extra flavor. Additionally, you can drain the excess liquid and add extra salsa before eating or storing if you would like even more salsa flavor. Get ready to enjoy some deliciousness!
Instant Pot Salsa Shredded Chicken Recipe
Ingredients:
3-4 chicken breasts
1/2 - 3/4 cup salsa (enough to cover most of the top of each breast)
Salt and pepper
Taco seasoning to taste, or I will use garlic, thyme, cayenne pepper, and any other seasonings that sound good
2 Tbsps water (or 1/4 cup of water if your salsa is thick and chunky)
Instructions:
Spray the Instant Pot with a little avocado oil either Chosen brand spray (or we use a misto sprayer) to coat the bottom of the pot.
Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and taco seasoning blend or any other seasonings you desire. Then add chicken breasts to your Instant Pot.
Pour about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of salsa over the chicken to cover most of the top of each breast. If salsa is very chunky, add 2 Tablespoons to 1/4 cup water to your pot so you don’t set off the burn warning.
Put the lid on, close the valve knob to the sealed position. Hit the Pressure Cook button and set it for 13 minutes.
Once the timer goes off, let the chicken sit for 10 minutes before setting the valve to quick release to let the steam out.
Open the lid and remove the chicken to a plate. Shred the chicken with 2 forks or this amazing claw shredder. Once shredded, add back into the Instant Pot, mix with the juices, and add additional salt and pepper if desired. Then, let marinate on warm setting for a while until you’re ready to eat it, or put it in a dish to store in the fridge.
*** Depending on your salsa, there will most likely be extra liquid in the bottom of the pot. You can choose to discard this or store it with your chicken for extra flavor. Additionally, you can drain the excess liquid and add extra salsa before eating or storing if you would like even more salsa flavor.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! Let me know if you have questions in the comments and tag me on Instagram at @awakenednutrition if you give it a try!! I love hearing from you!
Learn How to Stop Bloat From Happening
Want to reduce inflammation and lose fat for good? Start by downloading our free guide: 5 Easy Steps to Beating Belly Bloat!
We are Chris and Amber, a husband and wife team dedicated to helping you improve your nutritional and personal fitness habits for a better lifestyle. If you have issues with bloating, inability to lose fat, brain fog, or are in need of a proven nutrition and fitness plan to get you out of a rut, then sign up for our 30-Day Beat Belly Bloat Program today!
Weight Loss vs. Fat Loss - What’s the Difference?
Losing fat and losing weight is NOT the same thing. Learn the difference plus how you can track progress when fat loss is your goal.
Often when we discuss losing weight, we are really discussing fat. The problem is that they are not a one-to-one thing but we emotionally think they are.
Too often we are dictated by the tyranny of what the scale says, we think it’s telling us exactly how “fat” we are in a given moment. It goes up, it goes down, and at times it seems to have a mind of its own.
It can really mess with your mind when you’ve been working out, are feeling good, and visually look better, but STILL, the scale weight either stays the same, barely changes, or even (God forbid) goes up! Many times, as a trainer, I have to talk folks off the ledge when this happens. What gives!
Unfortunately, the scale is often the ONLY tool folks use to track whether or not they are losing body fat and the scale number comes to define whether they are being successful or not.
What does the number on the scale really mean?
Truthfully, for a fat loss goal, the scale by itself is a fairly crappy measuring tool. It will tell you your weight but it can’t differentiate WHAT that weight is composed of. Items such as fat, muscle, water, waste, and so on. Your scale weight is simply your current relationship to gravity. That’s it. We all (me included) attach too much emotion to what that number sometimes signifies.
Our body weight is constantly changing a little bit up and down every day. The scale can’t tell us what percentage of our weight is water at a given moment (more or less dehydrated), whether we have gained muscle from training, lost some body fat, what one’s current hormonal state (ie. where someone could be in their menstrual cycle), what current waste is being held in our bowels or bladder, or whether we have been having more (or less) carbohydrates in our diet.
For example, for every 1g of carb you take in, your body also holds onto about 3g of water. So if you consume, say, an extra 200g of carbs on a given day, that’s an extra 600g of water right there. 1lb = approx 454g so that 200 grams of carbs you just ate represents almost 2 more lbs right there between food and water in your system.
Losing fat and losing weight are NOT the same thing.
They have a relationship but they are not one in the same. It’s important to try and emotionally understand that, as hard as it is sometimes. What you SHOULD focus on most when thinking about losing WEIGHT is actually losing body fat, gaining muscle, and, in turn, changing the SHAPE of your body.
Really, in the end, that is what we mean by losing weight. We really want to feel a certain way or look a certain way. 1lb of fat takes up a lot more space in the body than 1lb of muscle.
For example, if you lost 5lbs of body fat BUT also GAINED 5lbs of muscle, you would weigh the same on the scale but would look much different and your body would have a different shape.
Here are 4 tips for measuring your progress:
First things first. If you are trying to lose body fat, focus on making a plan, following a reasonable, balanced nutrition and fitness plan and stick to it. When you track anything, scale weight or not, it should be measured against how your plan is working out or not.
1) Reduce your frequency of getting on the scale
If you are a chronic weight scale checker I encourage you to reduce the frequency you get on it and torture yourself. I have absolutely no problem with checking body weight but anything more than 1x a week or every other week is plenty. Remember that the scale weight doesn’t give you the whole story, it won’t take into account other factors such as fat, muscle, water weight, waste, food, bloat, etc.
2) Take circumference measurements
In addition to checking your body weight, another tool you should be using is a tape measure to take circumference measurements. You can buy a very inexpensive tape measure for under $4 and take them at home. Remember that when your goal is to change your waistline or body shape, a tape measure is going to be a much better tool to use than a scale to measure and track changes in your body.
3) Measure with a piece of clothing
One of our favorite measuring tools with clients in our programs besides photos and circumference measurements is using a piece of clothing to measure progress. usually, a pair of tighter pants or jeans works well. You can check progress every 2-4 weeks and see if they start to become looser on you.
4) Take pictures to track your progress
It can be very easy to forget what your body looked like before you started on your fat loss journey. Even if you are noticing changes, they most likely are subtle changes over days, weeks, or months and you are not going to really remember precisely where you started. As much as we all hate taking pictures of our bodies when we are not in our best shape, just DO IT! We have had clients tell us that they don’t think they’ve made much progress with the way their body looks, only to find out later that they actually made HUGE progress in their body composition when looking at their before and after photos side-by-side. It’s easy to forget where you started once you’ve already made progress and only see the way your new body looks.
Once you take your “before” photos just set them aside and forget about them for the moment. Don’t sit there and judge them. If you are making changes you WILL look differently as you go and really what the end product looks like is much more important than where you started. We recommend taking updated progress photos every 2-4 weeks and throwing them into that same folder to look at down the road when you are ready or entering the photos into a fitness app that will allow you to see your progress shots side-by-side. When taking your photos, try taking them at the same time of day, morning is usually best, and if possible, in the same outfit or swimsuit. Again, If you are serious about making a healthy lifestyle change, and staying consistent with your workout and nutrition plan, you WILL see major changes in your body!
Whatever you choose to do to track your progress, just remember, that body weight and body fat are not the same thing and that the scale is mostly just telling you your relationship to gravity in a given moment. Change doesn’t happen overnight so just keep focusing on making positive changes for your body through good nutrition and fitness habits. Your hard work WILL pay off in the end!
Want to reduce inflammation and lose fat for good? Start by downloading our free guide: 5 Easy Steps to Beating Belly Bloat!
We are Chris and Amber, a husband and wife team dedicated to helping you improve your nutritional and personal fitness habits for a better lifestyle. If you have issues with bloating, inability to lose fat, brain fog, or are in need of a proven nutrition and fitness plan to get you out of a rut, then sign up for our 28-Day Beat Belly Bloat Program today!
6 Healthy Habits to Adopt Now
Are you looking for ways to get healthier? Here are 6 healthy habits to adopt now.
As of today, we only have 55 days left in 2018 - I can barely wrap my mind around it! Chris and I just celebrated our first year of marriage on October 27th and it’s hard to believe that a year already flew by since then. I guess this is just how life goes when you are adulting!
Right around this time is when everyone is buzzing about the holidays (I literally just bought 2 small glittery Christmas trees from Target yesterday and it’s only the first week of November - I am part of the problem), before you know it, those 55 days will have zipped right on past us and we will be staring 2019 in the face!
It’s been mine and Chris’ goal this season to help our clients and you build healthy habits BEFORE the New Year starts instead of waiting until January 1st when all the damage is already done. Just because you will be celebrating with holiday parties, desserts, cocktails, and dinners, doesn’t mean that your entire rest of the year is already ruined.
Read Chris’ post: 5 Tips for how to avoid holiday procrastinating so you can crush your health and fitness goals
So, I have listed some super easy tips that you can start implementing today to help you de-bloat and feel awesome all throughout this holiday season. It’s not about perfection, just start making better choices and building healthier habits that will help you feel good mentally and physically!
Drink half your body weight in water -
One of the easiest things you can do daily that will help you look and feel healthier is make sure you are drinking enough water. Drinking water can help improve digestion which decreases belly bloat, flushes out toxins from our environment as well as all the yummy goodies you will consume this holiday season, help you have clearer skin, and help you fight of cravings! Everyday you should aim to drink about half your bodyweight in ounces of water. So say you weigh 150lbs, then you should drink about 75oz in water throughout the day! So easy and refreshing! Want to bump up the refreshing factor? For added taste and benefits such as better digestion and a possible weight loss boost - make your first morning cup of water, warm and add half of a fresh squeezed lemon to it.
Start meal prepping and make it a weekly habit -
This is an easy one but so beneficial! When you cook your own meals, you are in complete control of the foods that goes into your body! You have the power to eat foods that make you feel energized and healthy. How amazing is that? Meal prepping weekly can save you lots of time, money in your pocket, and inches around your waistline. It can seem like a daunting task, but really what isn't when you are first learning something that is new to you?! You just have to remember that it will come easier over time! Check out these tips on how to get started meal prepping as soon as tomorrow!
Start taking a high quality probiotic -
We have about 100 Trillion bacteria in our digestive tract which weighs about 3 pounds. So as you can imagine these guys make a pretty big impact on our health. Our gut is full of 85% good and 15% bad bacteria which helps to keep our immune system strong, keeps us happy – about 80% of our serotonin is in our gut, It helps to maintain healthy gut flora so we can reduce inflammation as well as avoid leaky gut syndrome which can cause food allergies and sensitivities, eczema, weight gain, as well as a host of other issues, and keeps our digestion running smoothly. Many things we put in our body such as antibiotics, medications, alcohol and certain processed food can kill off both these beneficial bacteria. Supplementing with a high quality probiotic supplement (this is the one we use and suggest to our clients!) with at least 15 billion live organisms as well as probiotic-rich foods like kefir and sauerkraut can help you to be healthier by keeping your gut flora in check and digestion functioning better. Better digestion = flatter belly!
Chew your food well -
Digestion begins when you first see and smell food, this gets your saliva going which contains enzymes to help break down your food as you chew. That's why having a quiet moment before you eat is so great, you can sit in prayer or a quiet moment to give thanks while you let those enzymes start working! Next we have to slowwwwww down! Most of us do not chew food properly as a result of being distracted and rushing through meals. Large chunks of food then go through the digestive tract without being broken down properly making it harder for our stomach acid to break down properly. It is important to really focus on the food you eat, try eating without distractions such as TV and phones (I know that seems impossible but you can do it!). Really concentrate on the look, feel and taste of your food. Chew until it becomes liquid in your mouth or aim for about 20-30 bites depending on the type of food you eat. As we get older our body produces less enzymes so we have to give our digestive system as much help as possible!
Move your body every day -
Keeping your body moving every day is key to stimulating circulation, creating a healthy digestive system and maintaining good energy. Exercise helps you to reduce cortisol, a stress hormone, which can cause you to store fat in your midsection. When you are under constant stress, your body goes into "fight or flight" mode and holds onto fat for dear life. But daily exercise will actually create a healthy stress on your body which in-turn helps you to deal with other life stressors in a healthier way and also helps to boost your mood by releasing endorphins, your bodies natural pain-killer and mood elevator. Win-win!! Getting in about 30 minutes or more of exercise a day will help improve your daily bowel movements and will make a huge difference in every aspect of your life! We get into this practice with the ladies in our 28 Day Beat Belly Bloat group via our fitness app so they can keep on top of it! Don't get overwhelmed, just start moving. Take a walk, jog, weight lifting session, a hike, a class at your local gym or a yoga class. You can also check out these workouts to get you started at the gym or in your home! The time to get started is now!
Supplement with Magnesium daily -
Taking magnesium daily is vital for great health because it can affect everything from headaches to our sleep. Magnesium helps control over 300 bio-chemical reactions in the body so when we become deficient, it can lead to things like headaches, migraines, constipation, moodiness, insomnia, dizziness, PMS, restless leg syndrome, eye twitches, leg cramps (hello Charlie horse cramp at 3am!!) and so much more! Most Americans are deficient in magnesium due to lack of it in our soil and therefore the food we eat, poor nutrient absorption, and it leaving the body through both sweat and stress. Magnesium deficiency has personally affected my health in many ways and it may be unknowingly affecting yours in ways you would never think of. I take 400mg of magnesium citrate each night before bed each night. Magnesium can also be absorbed through the skin by taking a relaxing Epsom salt bath at night with 1-2 cups of Epsom salt in very warm water or magnesium spray on the bottoms of your feet. Add some lavender essential oils in your epsom bath as well to get the most amazing spa-like experience! Your body will thank you for adding in this vital mineral!
So there you have it! You don’t have to wait until the New Year to start implementing healthy habits. You can use these tips and start right now! Do you have any tips to share that have made a big impact on your life? If so, share them in the comments!
Want to learn more about how you can stop bloat from happening?
Want to reduce inflammation and lose fat for good? Start by downloading our free guide: 5 Easy Steps to Beating Belly Bloat!
We are Chris and Amber, a husband and wife team dedicated to helping you improve your nutritional and personal fitness habits for a better lifestyle. If you have issues with bloating, inability to lose fat, brain fog, or are in need of a proven nutrition and fitness plan to get you out of a rut, then sign up for our 28-Day Beat Belly Bloat Program today!
3 Foods to Avoid if You Want a Flat Stomach
Do you have foods that just trigger belly bloat for you? Here are 3 foods you may want to avoid if you want a flat stomach.
Do you have foods that just trigger belly bloat for you? It's ok if the answer is no because a lot of folks out there just can't quite put their finger on the culprits.
I have 3 main foods that I really try my very best to avoid if I want to keep a flat tummy. This is especially critical if (1) I am wearing a form-fitting dress, (2) if I am in a swimsuit, or (3) I want to look hot for my hubby :)
These are foods that are common in most all of our diets because they are in a lot of packaged foods and on our plates in most restaurants. These foods are known to cause inflammation in the body in general and especially if you have a food intolerance to them.
When you are in a constant state of inflammation, it causes weight gain, insulin resistance, and also messes with your hormones. So food intolerance or not, it’s a good idea to limit these and other inflammatory foods as much as possible!
3 Foods to Avoid if You Want a Flat Stomach
Soy - After experiencing tons of bloating and gas anytime I ate soy, then doing an elimination diet and later food allergy testing, I learned that I was allergic to soy. All forms bloat me such as tofu, soybean oil, also called “vegetable oil” (one of the main oils that many restaurants cook with!), soy milk, soy sauce, soy lethicin (a binding agent ALSO in everything, think most packaged foods - hint hint...check the back of a Cliff Bar). So many people have an allergy or intolerance to soy but they simply don't know because it's in their diet nearly all of the time.
Soy not only causes inflammation in the body for many but it also contains phytoestrogens which mimic estrogens in the body of both men and woman. For men it can cause feminine characteristics to take shape (think man boobs), and for women it can cause serious health issues such as hormone-related issues, infertility, and breast and cervical cancer just to name a few issues. I seriously cringe anytime I see anyone feeding soy to children whose little reproductive systems haven't fully formed yet.
Dairy - This is another major bloat food for me that I discovered when I did the elimination diet and realized I was lactose intolerant and allergic to soy. When you are lactose intolerant, it simply means that your body does not produce lactase which is the enzyme that you need to break down milk sugars.
Dairy is another food that 75% of people around the world can't tolerate and yet they still consume it quite a bit. It causes digestive upset, stomach cramping, gas, bloating, diarrhea, acne, headaches, constipation and more. I'm sure when you hear the word dairy, it seems like a no brainer as to what that entails but you would be surprised to hear how many people tell me "I've gone dairy-free for a month!" only to find out they are still eating butter, whey protein shakes, half and half creamer, and even cheese. I don't judge because I too was just in the beginning stages of an almost dairy-free lifestyle at one point and I know how hard it can be to change old habits.
Canola oil - This horrifying oil is high in trans fatty acids and causes inflammation in the body which for me and many others = major belly bloat! Canola oil is also commonly called “vegetable oil” and is a highly processed, genetically modified, rancid cooking oil that a ton of restaurants also use along with soy, as well as it's in nearly every food on the Whole Foods Market hot food bar (this used to be my go to food option, bummer!!), most all common hummus brands that are on the shelves (um hello, hummus is supposed to be made with EVOO!), and again most packaged meals and foods like my beloved tortilla chips. Here you can learn more about canola oil and why you should never cook with it again.
Are you noticing a trend here with these belly bloating foods?? One word INFLAMMATION. It can cause a host of problems for your health but a big one is that it will cause insulin resistance, and insulin is our fat storage hormone which = belly fat and the inability to lose weight. NO thank you!
So as you can see, these 3 foods that are often labeled as health food can affect all of our health and our waistlines negatively but lucky for us, there are many great alternatives out there that will benefit our health in big ways.
Want to learn more about how you can stop bloat from happening?
Want to reduce inflammation and lose fat for good? Start by downloading our free guide: 5 Easy Steps to Beating Belly Bloat!
We are Chris and Amber, a husband and wife team dedicated to helping you improve your nutritional and personal fitness habits for a better lifestyle. If you have issues with bloating, inability to lose fat, brain fog, or are in need of a proven nutrition and fitness plan to get you out of a rut, then sign up for our 28-Day Beat Belly Bloat Program today!
5 Tips to Avoid Holiday Procrastinating So You Can Crush Your Health and Fitness Goals
5 Tips for how to avoid holiday procrastinating so you can crush your health and fitness goals.
The holidays, believe it or not, are just around the corner! Amber and I have been seeing Christmas displays popping up in stores recently, which absolutely blows my mind, given that’s it just the mid-October! At least wait till November folks!
Seeing Halloween decorations and costumes next to Christmas trees is pretty hilarious though. The reason I bring up the holidays is that NOW is the time to start up building good fitness habits instead of after the holidays!
Every year, I see folks waiting until after the New Year to implement a fitness and nutrition program thinking that’s the best approach. Remember 2 or 3 months from now is a decent chunk out of the year - that’s 16 – 20% of your year!
After the fallout of the holidays, not only are you then trying to FINALLY establish good workout and nutrition habits BUT also typically digging out of a MASSIVE hole that was dug over the months around the holidays eating season.
The statistics of post-New Year fitness habits actually sticking around are pretty bleak because you don’t already have those good habits put into place after eating and drinking a lot over the past few months. It can also be confusing not knowing what workouts you should be doing and can be discouraging.
Plus It’s cold and dark out. It takes some will power to get out and get your butt to the gym. Losing those inches around the waistline takes more time then people believe and too often folks quickly throw in the towel.
Hopefully now you see that the urge to procrastinate on your health and fitness goals is a huge mistake and is one that the AVERAGE person unfortunately often makes.
We don’t want you to be average! We want you to separate yourself from the average and choose something different.
NOW is the time to start building those habits! TODAY is the day you do that workout. Not 2 months from now. Doing something that builds up your good habits and helps you feel fitter and stronger is going to pay off in the end.
If you start focusing on your nutrition and building a fitness habit now, you will go into the holidays actually burning more through building exercise and establishing better eating habits. So when the holiday parties roll around, you can enjoy it guilt free and know that you have prepared your body to be able to put those extra fun calories to good use in the gym!
EVEN IF all you end up doing is staying mostly the same, CONGRATULATIONS!!! The average weight GAINED during the holidays is 10+lbs so you’ve avoided that AND you have the habits necessary to sustain you post holidays.
The urge to procrastinate is a strong one and one that I have to fight off as well.
Don’t wait for things to be perfect to get started because there will never be that perfect time. Focus instead on the little things that build you up towards your future self. Focus on the things you CAN do!
5 Tips for how to avoid holiday procrastinating so you can crush your health and fitness goals:
#1: Ask yourself what motivates you to get the results you want to see? What drives you?
This is your chance to stop and listen to yourself, cut out the outside noise and see what intrinsically motivates you. Write it down! Be specific! General responses tend to lead to general outcomes.
#2: Get started by establishing a short term goal with a reward at the end.
Wanting to lose 50 lbs is awesome but why not start with actions that lead you towards that goals such as going to the gym 4 days a week for the next 2 weeks. When you do that, plan a little reward for yourself. The brain likes to be rewarded and it feels good to accomplish something you set out to do. Once you’ve accomplished that, they shoot for another 2 weeks.
#3: Practice visualization.
You need to actually envision the future, see your future self and imagine what you will look like, how your clothes will fit, and how it will feel to like to achieve this for yourself. Some of the most accomplished athletes and people in the world make this a practice. You are training your mind to help you accomplish the tasks you need in order to achieve your goal.
#4: Prioritize the tasks that are going to lead you to success.
Now that you know what you would like to achieve, you’ve clearly defined what that is and you can see yourself doing it. Now is the time to cut out the distractions. Every one of us has 24 hours in a day. Most often the things that aren’t as important will just end up taking care of themselves if you can just FOCUS on the things that matter. Stop with the illusion of multitasking. Often the multitudes of things that you are juggling are just keeping you feeling busy but robbing you of focus. Focus on your priorities before even worrying about the other things.
#5: Get in there and get messy!
Life is messy and so is starting something new. Just make a mess and get started. It doesn’t have to be perfect as long as you make an effort. Your future self will be very grateful you did!
Learn How to Stop Bloat From Happening
Want to reduce inflammation and lose fat for good? Start by downloading our free guide: 5 Easy Steps to Beating Belly Bloat!
We are Chris and Amber, a husband and wife team dedicated to helping you improve your nutritional and personal fitness habits for a better lifestyle. If you have issues with bloating, inability to lose fat, brain fog, or are in need of a proven nutrition and fitness plan to get you out of a rut, then sign up for our 28-Day Beat Belly Bloat Program today!
5 Benefits Of Doing An Elimination Diet
When I first started on my health and fitness journey around 2009, I was the heaviest I had ever been in my life and just didn't feel good in my own skin. With the help of my new boyfriend at the time Chris, now husband, I started putting more focus on the food I ate and my fitness routine in order to lose weight.
The more I changed my eating habits from eating whatever I felt like at the moment to switching to eating healthier meals, I could finally begin to see how my body was reacting to certain food. Meal prepping and planning played a big role in changing my eating habits and being consistent!
While I was eating healthy at the time, I had doubts about dairy and thought it could be a big reason I wasn't losing as much weight as I should have been.
I then removed all dairy from my diet for 2 weeks and then added it back into my meals. I immediately had uncomfortable symptoms like gassiness and extreme bloating. It was downright embarrassing!
It was very clear that I was lactose intolerant and had probably been for quite some time BUT I wasn't able to see the symptoms because on a daily basis I was eating dairy in some form.
After my dairy epiphany, I thought to myself: No big deal, I will replace it with soy! Big mistake for SO many reasons but one being that soy is not a healthy food despite what many health websites and labels tell us. We will have to save that conversation for another day.
So I went to the Starbucks on Astor Place in NYC and ordered a large soy milk latte. My body quickly told me that I couldn't tolerate soy either as I was having the same symptoms as dairy but on a bigger and more embarrassing level.
I later confirmed with my doctor that it was a true soy allergy, but again, I had no idea for so long since I unknowingly ate soy all the time (hint: it's in most packaged foods at the grocery store). My body was in a constant state of inflammation from the food I was eating which may have been the very thing holding me back from losing fat.
Without knowing it at the time, I had done an elimination diet!
The elimination diet is now the tool I use not only with my clients but also anytime I ever have a question about a certain food that seems to be bothering me or if I ever need to do a healthy reboot when my digestion seems off balance.
So, what is the elimination diet?
The Elimination Diet is an approach used by the Functional Medicine community, health practitioners, allergists and nutritionists to figuring out which foods you have a food sensitivity, food intolerance or food allergy to.
This is done by eating an anti-inflammatory diet, removing a specific group of foods that are known to cause issues which allows the body to remove symptoms it may have. Later you will reintroduce certain planned foods back in one at a time to note any reactions creating a personalized eating plan.
Having this information about your individual health is important to understand so that you can eat mindfully, keep your digestive symptoms at bay, start healing your gut, and lose fat. So many benefits!
How does the elimination diet work?
The elimination diet works in two phases: The elimination phase and the reintroduction phase. I will explain both.
Phase one - Elimination: During the initial phase of an elimination diet, you will remove common culprits of digestive upset and common food allergens from your diet for 2-3 weeks. Most commonly you would remove some of the top 8 allergenic foods: soy, dairy, corn, egg, gluten, peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish. As well as any other food you think you may have an issue with such as nightshades, citrus fruit, yeast, legumes, etc. Please note: You should not test any foods that you believe you may have anaphylaxis reaction to.
This is so you can allow enough time for food allergens as well as other gut irritants to fully get out of your system. During this period you will naturally reduce inflammation in order to allow any symptoms to go away. You dial down your daily meals and snacks so that you are only eating real, nourishing foods that will not hurt your gut. In fact, you can begin to heal your gut with a proper elimination diet.
You will want to be strict during this phase in order to have success. Keep a list of all the foods you can and can't eat during the elimination phase so that you are very clear on which foods you need to avoid. It's very easy to forget and slip up on the foods you are used to eating.
It's important to keep meals simple and stay on track during this time so your body will be somewhat of a blankslate making it easy to figure out which foods work best for you!
Phase two - Reintroduction: Then after the 2-3 week elimination phase is over, you will enter the reintroduction phase. Gradually reintroduce the foods you removed during the initial elimination phase back into your diet one-by-one to see how your body reacts. We always suggest that our clients add back in the one food that they missed the most during the elimination phase but you can add them back in any order that you would like!
With certain food, you may notice reactions from it immediately and with others you may feel the effects a day or so later. During this phase, you will keep a food reaction journal so that you can pinpoint exactly how you are feeling both mentally and physically. Take note of any headaches, muscle aches, joint pain, constipation, gas, bloating, low energy, mood swings, fatigue, foggy thinking, etc.
Pinpointing the way these foods affect you are the key to your health success! This helps you to discover your personalized eating plan and you now know which foods to avoid in your daily life in order to avoid symptoms that may make you feel bad plus get healthier while at it!
“The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.”
An entire elimination diet can last between 1-3 months depending on how many foods you reintroduce back into your diet. The great thing about the elimination diet is that it can be tailored specifically to your personal needs with your health coach or practitioner.
In our Beat Belly Bloat program we have our clients go through a simple elimination diet that lasts only 28 days and then they have the freedom to add in extra foods if they would like to extend it. I believe 28 days is more manageable for client’s busy lives!
Many people discount the elimination diet because they think they don't have food allergies or intolerances and it won’t help them, but it goes way beyond just discovering foods you can't eat.
The benefits you can receive by doing an elimination diet are transformational in so many ways! So I wanted to share just a few with you today!
Here Are 5 Amazing Benefits of Doing an Elimination Diet:
1. Helps to uncover food sensitivities and allergies
When your body sees certain foods as a danger its natural defenses overreact creating a immune response to let you know in the form of digestive upset, IBS, constipation, hives, acne, excessive gas, bloating, wheezing, watery eyes, puffy skin, eczema, hives, etc. When you eat a food daily that you can’t tolerate, it puts your body in a constant state of inflammation and can later result in disease and weight gain. Once you uncover these foods, you can then take steps to heal your gut and later you may be able to eat that specific food again if desired.
2. Clears your skin
As I mentioned above, eczema which can come in the form of itching, dry, cracking red skin and even acne are often an immune response from certain food. What you think is just normal acne, could actually be your body telling you that diary or another food doesn't work for you and needs to be removed for a time. We’ve had clients in our program report back that their skin cleared up within days of the elimination phase after years of skin issues!
3. Start to lose fat
It has been discovered that when your body is in a constant state of inflammation, it can’t lose fat. It's hard to know what foods are inflaming your body if you are eating them often which is why elimination diets are so important to give your body a break from those foods. Also other foods like rancid cooking oils such as canola and soybean oil are also very inflammatory whether you have an issue with it or not, so during an elimination diet you can give you body a break from those foods as well.
4. Helps to fight migraine headaches
It was shown in a study that when people who suffered from frequent migraine headaches went on an elimination diet, it significantly reduced the number of migraines they experienced monthly. Rather than reaching for over-the-counter medication that only masks symptoms, you can use the elimination diet to uncover trigger foods that may be contributing to migraine headaches.
5. Helps to heal leaky gut
When you have a leaky gut, it often comes in the form of multiple food sensitivities, inflammation, bloating, weakened immune system, etc. A common reason for having a leaky gut is caused by poor diet, stress, internal and environmental toxins. Inflammation is your body’s natural defense mechanism against harmful invaders and its main purpose is to help remove those invaders and heal your body.
Leaky gut is when there’s a lot of inflammation in the gut and large holes develop in the intestinal lining allowing food, toxins and other foreign things to bypass into your bloodstream. As the undigested food or toxins pass into the bloodstream, it causes an immune response in your body and over time can lead to food sensitivities or more serious autoimmune diseases. During the elimination diet, you will remove inflammatory food and discover which ones are making you feel sick. You can then start to lower inflammation since we have removed gut irritants and make gut-healing a priority.
Learn How to Stop Bloat From Happening
Want to reduce inflammation and lose fat for good? Start by downloading our free guide: 5 Easy Steps to Beating Belly Bloat!
We are Chris and Amber, a husband and wife team dedicated to helping you improve your nutritional and personal fitness habits for a better lifestyle. If you have issues with bloating, inability to lose fat, brain fog, or are in need of a proven nutrition and fitness plan to get you out of a rut, then sign up for our 28-Day Beat Belly Bloat Program today!
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