What the heck am I going to eat? How much? Are you going to tell me exactly what to put in my mouth?

THIS IS A LIFESTYLE, so you need to learn the ins and outs of it without always having someone spoon-feed you. After all, it’s not rocket science, and I promise you will love me for the information you will be receiving on this lifestyle. I will be providing your preferred grocery list that will include CLEAN food and CLEAN junk. (You’ll understand later on).
OK, now what’s with all this “flexible dieting/ macro counting” that you swear by?
You may get severely confused on this next part, and it’s going to seem a lot more complicated than it actually is. Bear with me! Once you learn it, and live it, I promise it gets easier, and actually fun trying to hit your numbers. These macro numbers will be based on your goals: whether you are looking to build, or cut. You’re numbers will be different from anyone else’s. You are a unique little snowflake! Everyone’s metabolism, overall health, work ethic, and other factors will play vital roles in energy expenditure, which means everyone will have different numbers.
Some people respond better to higher fats, and some to higher carbs, some bodies like low fats while others work well on low carb. We can always adjust the numbers if we don’t like what we are seeing progress wise. This is going to be a science project on your body at first. You have to really figure out your body, which is super beneficial in the long run. Hopefully, by the end of 12 weeks you will be very in tuned with your body along with eating all the foods you LOVE. Anywaysss. Let me try and break this down.
Alright, alright. Well, what the freak are Macronutrients exactly?

Well, macros are comprised of 3 major categories: Proteins, carbs, and fat. Let me give you some info.
Proteins: Essential nutrient your body uses in your diet to build new cells, maintain tissues, and synthesize new proteins that make it possible for you to perform basic bodily functions. The RDA (recommended daily allowance) is 0.8g of protein per pound of body weight daily. If trying to build slight muscle tone (surplus of calories, try to stay around 1.2–1.5g of protein per pound bodyweight. If cutting, stay at 1g per pound bodyweight.
Carbs: Carbs are NOT your enemy! Simple processed carbs are. Complex unprocessed carbs provide the body with glucose, which is converted into energy used to support bodily functions and physical activity. Because there is a connotation with carbs being only donuts, bread, chips, etc.– many people forget that many carbs are unprocessed or minimally processed foods such as: whole grains, veggies, fruits, and beans as well. This is why close to 40–45% of your diet should consist of carbs.
Fats: Not only serves as an energy source, especially effective over a longer distance, but it is responsible for the construction of every cell in our body and the regulation of most of our bodily processes. Fat is also not your enemy, but trans-fat or saturated fats are. Keep your fats clean as possible.
Monounsaturated/Polyunsaturated fats = GOOD Trans/Saturated = BAD
Remember, macronutrients and micronutrients are what all food consists of. Notice I said ALL FOOD consists of these. Even freakin’ Doritos have a macro count. So below, I will be teaching you how to calculate your macronutrient intake. Technically, you could fill these macro numbers with anything and still see some results. However, we need to take baby steps into this, so I have a few rules you will stick by!
Flexible dieting rules:

1: Track Everything
Nothing crosses your lips without being tracked first. NOTHING. Even supplements.

2: Stick to at least 60% of clean foods-
When I say clean foods, I mean essentially unprocessed foods. (Chicken, turkey, beef, veggies, rice, sweet potatoes, fruit, etc.) Basically, if you can kill it and eat it, you can consider it “clean”. If you find it in the produce aisle, or you can grow it in your backyard, then eat it! And try to fill your number as much as you can with them! These are the $MONEY$ foods, packed
with nutrients.
Disclaimer: If you want to eat more towards 95% or 100% clean, then by all means. Feel free. This is just guidelines to go by with me in order to really understand that being flexible with your food is OK. Do NOT go under 60% clean though, at least until this program is over. Unless it’s a special occasion.

3: I’m going to allow 30% of foods from “clean junk”-
My definition of clean junk is foods that have been processed, usually found in a box or bag, but are very macro friendly. I will give some examples of my favorites later, but for a quick example take Dannon Light and Fit Greek Yogurt. It’s only 80 calories, and packs 12g of protein, 0 fat, and only 9g of carbs. Processed, but very macro friendly.

4 10% CAN BE FILLED WITH _________________
That’s right. BLANK. Which means, you can fill that small percentage with anything you want!
I’ll give you an example: Jackie has to fill 160g of carbohydrates a day. For her carbs that day, she eats a cup of oatmeal for breakfast (51g), 10 whole wheat crackers with her tuna snack (24g), a cup of strawberries with lunch (11g), some low fat pretzels (24g) before her workout, and a sweet potato with dinner (23g). Tally all these carbs up and she is at 133g of carbs after dinner so she has 27g of carbs to complete! 1 Skinny Cow Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwich contains 29g carbohydrates, so guess what? She can have it. (If, of course it will fit into her fats as well.)
Your “macro budget”
If you want a “cheat” meal from dirty food (pizza, Mexican, etc.) or want to go out to lunch/ dinner with your friends then make it fit your calories/macros. To do this, you just need to plan ahead! Think of your calories/macros as a budget.
For example: you’re not going to go buy a Lamborghini when you don’t have the money for it, so why would you try and eat 4 pieces of pizza when you only have 5g of fat, and 15g of carbs left in your macro budget?! Noooo. Plan ahead, and eat the foods you need in order to reach your macro numbers, even if it means that you have to skip some pizza sometimes if it’s not in the macro budget. Going over your numbers will only hurt you in the long run. Don’t be stupid.
This is the beauty of flexible dieting ladies! No food is necessarily “restricted.” However,
even though it’s not restricted, doesn’t mean you can go crazy. Just about anything is OK in moderation. Also, like I said, it’s very important to get in your protein, fruits and veggies for your micronutrient intake. Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals. They include minerals such as: fluoride, selenium, sodium, iodine, copper and zinc. They also include vitamins such as vitamin C, A, D, E and K, as well as the B-complex vitamins. You can’t get this from eating mostly processed foods. You got to get those fruits and veggies in in order to get the proper amount of micros in. They’re vital to all proper functioning of all of your body’s systems. So yeah, you don’t wanna miss out on ‘em. Micronutrients are harder to track, So we’re not gonna, but if you are eating mostly clean and getting in those fruits and veggies, you shouldn’t have a problem.
Let me also say this– if you are nervous about the flexible dieting/macro counting… don’t
be. I know it seems intimidating and crazy to believe that you don’t have to just eat chicken, rice and green beans or tilapia and egg whites for every meal in order to reach your goals.
I can promise you that it works if executed correctly, so just trust me :). I have made myself, clients, and alphas test rats for flexible dieting, and I have seen first-hand that it works, and is incredibly sustainable because it’s not restrictive like most diets. Again, if you want to do this whole program reaching your macro numbers with super clean “bro” foods for every meal, I completely support that as well. Whatever makes you feel the BEST, and whatever you know you can eat for the long term!

Where do you count these macros?
First off, you need to buy a food scale RIGHT now. Actually, like, last month. Order it today, or go pick one up! I have one from Walmart. Search “EatSmart Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scale” and you’ll see the one I currently have. I think they are about $20, but definitely worth it. It’s going to be your best friend for the next 12 weeks while prepping meals, and long thereafter since you are definitely going to continue with this lifestyle!
I’m sure most of you know the answer to this question or know what I’m about to say about where to track, and that is: FatSecret. That’s right. Download the app right now on your phone (or track on your computer). It will literally be your best pal. All pun intended. You will log everything that passes through your lips! This will ensure that you are keeping up with everything, and will help you hit your macro numbers by showing what’s left in your macro budget! 🙂 I sometimes, will plan out my whole day’s eating in advance on it. This keeps me accountable, and lets me know what I can and can’t have that day. I definitely encourage planning ahead for the first few weeks. Later on, once you get the hang of it, you can log as you go, and then hit the remaining macros at dinner! It’s all up to you, and what you prefer. Fat Secret has the biggest database of foods. Literally, just about every food from every grocery store, restaurant, even fast food is on there. All you have to search for it and it will pop up with the macros. I know, I know, awesome. If, by chance, it cannot find what you are looking for, you can manually add the macros. If you’re at a restaurant, and for some reason Fat Secret doesn’t have the item or meal, you can either look up on the restaurant’s website for the calories or you can estimate by seeing what’s in the meal and adding it individually. Yes, I know, tedious work. But like I’ve said before, even if everyone makes fun of you for weighing and tracking everything, you can laugh in their face when you have abs and they don’t.

Macro Meal Timing-
I’m sure you have heard it all when it comes to this subject but I’ll give you my input. I would prefer that you eat close to 4-5 times a day or every 3-4 hours. So if you can manage that, I definitely encourage it. Not because it “keeps your metabolism in check” but because after a lot of research, that has been proven to be bull snot. Eating every few hours will help you stay satiated and never get to a point of starving for food and tempting you to binge eat. Also, if you are looking to put on some muscle, it does take multiple doses of protein to stimulate protein synthesis throughout the day. So don’t try to get all your protein in in 2 meals.
However, if we are being realistic, some people’s schedules won’t allow this, and some people just downright forget or don’t want to eat that many times a day. The important thing is that you get your macros in within the 15-18 hours that you’re awake, and don’t go overboard. AKA don’t try to get ALL of your macros in 1 or 2 meals. I will give you some tips on the next page or 2 for counting macros and some tips about meal timing and such, in order to be optimal.
What about fiber?
There’s not a “perfect” number for this, but I like to shoot for 20-25 grams. If you are eating near 60%-70% clean foods, then hitting your fiber intake should not be hard, but definitely keep an eye on it, as it is vital in keeping everything flow nicely if ya know what I’m sayin’.

POST workout nutrition
You’ve probably heard a lot about post-workout nutrition as well. I’ll say this, I’m no scientist but I’ve researched and educated myself more than many on this subject. When you work out, you start a process whereby muscle proteins are broken down. The nerdy term for this is proteolysis. This is very mild during a workout, but increases after you have completed. (If you train in a fasted state, it is even greater.) Does this mean that if you don’t eat 30 minutes after you finish, you’re doomed? No. It’s not THAT extreme, but just to be optimal, it’s effective to get in some nutrition soon after your lift. Especially protein, because when the body synthesizes more protein molecules than it loses, the result is muscle growth. 🙂 The goals of post-workout nutrition is minimizing muscle breakdown, and stimulating protein synthesis. These two effects result in greater total muscle 11 growth. Again, don’t think because of the verbiage that I’m using to explain this that it means if you drink a protein shake after your lift for a week, you will gain 5 lbs. of muscle. No. It takes a lot of time doing this over and over again. It’s a lifestyle remember? As far as carbs go, it is beneficial to get some carbs in soon after your lift. It’s not CRUCIAL, but beneficial. I’ll explain. Ingesting carbohydrates post lift will spike insulin levels, which is supposed to kick muscle growth into overdrive. Insulin is said to have anti-catabolic properties, which means that it will minimize the breakdown of hard earned muscle. So, carbs are worth including in your post workout meal to keep those insulin levels elevated longer. Protein is still more important though. So if protein and carbohydrates swim out into the ocean and start drowning, save the protein. 😉

Kayli’s Flexible Dieting Tips For Success:

Eat the majority of your food from super clean “paleo” foods. This will allow you to have more food, since the caloric density on whole foods is so much different than that of processed foods. With processed foods, you really have to regulate portions because you could eat 1000 calories in one sitting.
Plan your meals ahead. It’s a heck of a lot easier to be successful when you know what you’re going to be eating for the day.
Hit your fiber early.
Try and save fats for later since they are easiest to go overboard on.
Don’t eat anything until accounted for in Fat Secret
Always round UP when tracking macros. Meaning if you need 190 carbs and you get to 187, just
round up. It’s better to overestimate than underestimate when losing fat.
Try and eat a variety of foods in order to get different nutrients. (I understand some of you will do better just eating the same thing every day, but it is beneficial to switch it up every now and then).
Track your supplements.
Don’t feel guilty after having a “clean junk” snack. Trust the process.

It really is that simple.  Shoot me an email if you have questions or jump over to http://www.kaylimonotyafitness.weebly.com to apply for a free coaching call and I will explain the process in more detail.

The Truth About Food, And Why You Might Binge

 

-Why you can’t stop eating

 

Scenario 1:

-You are sitting at a table for dinner, in front of you there are four boiled potatoes, peel on. Your job, eat all the four potatoes. Odds are, you will not be able to eat the four potatoes, and what you can eat will fill you up for hours.

 

Scenario 2:

-You sit down at the same table, except this time, instead of four potatoes boiled, you have a bag of Lay chips (about 5-7 large potatoes). Your job; eat the bag of chips. Odds are not only you finish the bag, but you probably won’t be full, and might even be able to go for bag number two.

 

-The same could be said for 5 apples, you probably couldn’t do that. But could easily put a large dent in an apple pie… So, why do people do this?

 

Sugar?

 

NOPE. It’s not JUST sugar. Sugar has pseudo-addictive properties according to recent research (Avena. ET AL 007). But, if it were just sugar, you would be snorting sugar packets up like they were cocaine.

The term “sugar addiction” is MASSIVELY misleading. Instead it’s likely that YOUR brain, and yeah MINE too, is easily tricked by the engineered combinations of fats, sugars, salts and other additives that make foods on shelves today so enticing.

 

This engineering is what earns a food the term processed. These foods are often called HYPERPALATABLE, a term for foods that set off the pleasure centers of the brain. These combinations ARE NOT found in nature. We have 200,000 years of human evolution without ever being able to find fats, sugars, and salts together in one place. Now we have teams of food scientists that are literally creating equations and regression analysis to ensure that their food is addictive. Food like Cheetos that literally “melt in your mouth” because of their chemical components, bypass the SSS (Sensory Specific Satiety) centers of the brain and create what we call “vanishing caloric density”. This means, no matter how much we eat – You won’t be full. In truth, this isn’t a post to scare anyone, but instead to educate. The more you know, the better decisions you can make.

• Find Balance with your Diet

  Head over to www.kaylimontoyafitness.weebly.com for macro friendly recipes made from whole foods. While you’re there you can apply for a free coaching call. If you are interested in my custom programs, keep an eye out in the next few weeks. I’m going to drop a sample of a custom program.

What Makes Up Our Energy (Calorie) Expenditure?

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMB)

-This is the minimum amount of energy we need to maintain vital functions such as: breathing, heart beating, etc. This accounts for around 75% of your total energy expended.

Exercise Activity

-Exercise activity is any purposeful exercise. Weight lifting & cardio are examples of this. This element of daily energy expenditure has the most fluctuation. It can make up to 10-15% for sedentary individuals & up to 30% for highly active individuals.

Thermic Effect of Feeding (TEF)

-This is the energy that is required for digestion & absorption for food. Yes, we use energy eating food. Protein has the highest thermic response. This accounts for about 10% of your daily energy expended.

Non-Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)

-NEAT makes up the least of our energy expenditure, usually around 5%, but this can vary greatly person to person. NEAT is all the activity that is not deliberate exercise, such as housework, walking, moving around the house, fidgeting, etc.

= Total Daily Energy Expenditure

Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is the energy we use on a daily basis. Simply put, if you intake more energy (calories) than you expend you will gain weight. If you expend more energy than you intake you will lose weight.

The unfortunate part is that these numbers can vary greatly from person to person (as many frustrated people trying to diet or put on weight know) some things that can effect this number: Individual environments, genetics, age, physical activity, hormones, what we can absorb & digest & things such as stress or lack of sleep.

The fortunate part is the even though some things may be out of our control (genetics, age) there are ways to ensure that you are expending more energy than taking in & keeping your metabolism roaring. Some of these things include: 2-3 hours per week of resistance training, minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity per day, sleep 6-8 hours per night, consume nutrient dense whole foods over processed foods.

Essentially, Stay Moving!

Need help determining your TDEE and figuring out how it helps determine your suggested daily calorie intake? Apply for a free coaching call at www.kaylimontoyafitness.weebly.com and I will take your numbers and break it down in detail for you. Remember there is always free content available on my Facebook and IG.

 

 

I have a challenge for you…

But first, some context for the challenge.

I may not know a ton about you personally, but I feel confident assuming that you got into fitness to REDUCE your stress and IMPROVE your happiness in life.

I’d also venture to say the opposite’s been true…

For you, fitness has only ADDED stress and made you less happy about how you look & feel.

And that’s because, up to this point, you’ve been approaching this whole fitness-weight loss thingy the wrong way…

Your motivation to lose weight has come from hating who you are, how you look, and how you think others perceive you.

When you made mistakes, you’d beat yourself up. You’d treat yourself like garbage because, time after time, you overate, skipped a workout, etc.

Idk… Maybe that hasn’t been the case for you…But it was for me for the longest time.

Because of fitness I’d regularly decline invites from friends and family. When I did accept those invitations (very rare), I’d just stress about how my food choices in the moment were impacting my body goals.

If you can relate to that, know you’re not alone.

Also, realize it doesn’t have to be that way.

MY CHALLENGE TO YOU:

Moving forward, you’re going to STOP losing weight to fix what’s “broken.” Instead, you’re going to START this journey to improve what’s already awesome, and make it more awesome-er!

Moving forward, you’re going to STOP treating yourself like shit every time you make a little mistake. Instead, you’re going to START embracing those mistakes and use them as learning experiences to do better in the future.

In both scenarios, you’re still losing weight and making mistakes…

But I don’t think I need to tell you which mental approach will lead to a healthier, happier life.

If you’re struggling to find balance or don’t know where to start. Head over to www.kaylimonotyafitness.weebly.com and apply for a free coaching call. I’ll help you make attainable adjustments to your current lifestyle to get you on track to hitting your goals.

It’s A Trade Off

Just had a conversation with a client yesterday about prepping healthy food and how annoying it can be…

 

____________

 

I’ll be the first one to admit: cooking gets annoying. I’m on the go. I have clients I’m responsible for. I have to bring you guys content here, I work another full time job, etc. This isn’t me complaining about those things because I truly love all those things and I’m thankful for them. But I get annoyed with prepping food. But here’s what I notice: if I take the time out to prepare food, I feel better than it I’m eating something from a restaurant. EVEN if it is a relatively healthy meal, I can tell a difference in my energy, clarity, gut health, sleep, mood, libido, and list goes on.

 

_____________

 

Here’s what I’m getting at: living healthier is a tradeoff. You take the time to train/exercise and cook REAL FOOD, you get better health. Better body composition, better hormonal profile, better emotional health, better relationships, better productivity & MORE! Realize that little bit extra time turns into a better quality of life at the end of the day.

 

Want help with meal prep ideas. I have an entire page dedicated to meal prep recipes and macro friendly meals on my website, www.kaylimontoyafitness.weebly.com.

How Low Calorie Diets KILL WEIGHT LOSS

Dropping calories lower isn’t always the answer.

Yeah, you need to eat less calories than you burn in a day to lose weight. Calorie deficit. I talk about this all the time to my clients. It’s the most important piece to weight loss.

It’s easy to take the “more is better” mindset, dropping calories as low as possible. The thought process makes sense, but like most fitness things, finding balance is the key to sustainable results.

Sure it sucks not liking how you look in a bathing suit. Makes you want results absolutely as fast as possible. Makes you want to do something drastic, because you hate how you feel right now.

Feeling like this is usually what leads to super low calorie crash diets.

For immediate results, crash dieting is great. Buuuutttttt in the big picture (6 months + from now), it’s the worst thing you could do to your health, and for maintaining a leaner body.

Your metabolism adapts to your calorie intake. Eat more? It gradually speeds up. Eat less? It gradually slows.

Eat a lot less for too long? Your metabolism slows dramatically. This is why people lose and gain back the same 15lbs constantly. Dieting too hard reduces the amount of calories you can eat without gaining weight.

You might want to be able to eat normally again when you hit your goal weight….but if you’ve done enough damage (say you can’t eat over 1000 calories without gaining) you’re gonna have a hard time keeping the weight off. That’s less than you ate at brunch today. (If it was due to bottomless mimosas you did the right thing!) haha

What to do instead when dieting:

1. Very generalized, but for most: bodyweight x 10 is the lowest you wanna go for healthy weight loss.
2. Eat all the macronutrients. Get enough carbs, fats, and protein. Don’t try to cut out anything.
3. Take diet breaks. Key to preventing metabolic slow down. Short periods of returning calories to maintenance levels. Every 10-12 weeks of dieting. Diet slower. In the long haul, it means you’ll be able to enjoy more brunches!

   As always, helping is what I do, so if you’re struggling head over to www.kaylimontoyafitness.weebly.com and apply for a free coaching call. There is no obligation. We simply talk about what you’ve been doing and where you want to go and I’ll give you some ideas of how to get there. If you just want to sit back and read some free content on your own time, follow me on Facebook or IG.

LOSE WEIGHT STARTING TODAY!

1. Include low calorie veggies with most of your meals.
2. Include leaner proteins with most of your meals.
3. Limit snacking (1/day) and eat fruit or protein.
4. Stick to low or zero calorie drinks and condiments.
5. Start walking more (aim for 8-12k steps per day).
6. Start lifting weights a few times per week.

   Are you struggling to figure out how to get started? No matter what plan you follow, you can’t seem to get the scale moving?

   If so, I’ve got a challenge for you…

   For the next TWO weeks, I want you to implement as many as these strategies as you can.

   No cutting carbs, forgoing fat, of slashing sugar…

   Yes, it’s true you need to eat fewer calories to lose weight.

   But if you go in with a long list of things you can’t or shouldn’t have anymore, it’ll only worsen your relationship with food. You’ll end up resenting fitness and quit altogether.

   SO I encourage you to give this a go! Instead, work on ADDING these healthy habits into your day-to-day life.

   Best case scenario? It kick starts your weight lose journey in a healthy, sustainable way. Worst case scenario? It doesn’t work, and you’ve only wasted two weeks (which is nothing compared to how much time most people have lost on FAD diets).

   Give it a shot! Shoot me an email or DM on Facebook or IG with your results! If you have questions, head over to www.kaylimontoyafitness.weebly.com and apply for a free coaching call and we will discuss your goals, questions and strategies to tackle both together!