While there are many foods you can add to your diet for heart health, consider some simple swaps for things you are already eating. Not all foods warrant a trade or swap, but consider what you could do. Today I list five simple food swaps for your heart and your health.

February is American Heart Month. It is also Cancer Prevention Awareness Month. So this month, most of my articles/posts will address several things related to both disease classes. However, this post explains a bit more about what is considered heart disease (there are many things) and that cancer is not just one disease but many. Consider this article foundational for additional information coming in the following several articles.

The case for meal planning. Now, don’t confuse this with meal prep – making the bulk of your week’s meals in one major cooking session at the start of the week. That is a different topic. Meal planning and meal prepping are two different topics. This is meal planning to save you time.

Are you frustrated with your scale and apparent lack of weight loss? Consider this: the number on the scale tells only part of the overall health story. Does it say anything about our overall health? Not really. It just shows mass, and changes in mass, day-to-day. That's it.

In the last post, I wrote about fueling fitness and how most people either don’t do it correctly or at all or believe it requires supplements. So today, I am giving the top five things to ensure you properly fuel, and recover from, your fitness.

One of the most significant issues I see when it comes to diet and exercise is that people need to fuel their bodies in preparation for exercise - but they don't. While doing a 30-45, or even 60-minute run or lifting session, there isn't a need to carbo load, pound protein, or take pre-workout. However, properly fueling will help with a productive workout and feeling like it is easier.

While I am always promoting that people should focus on their overall health and mental and physical wellness, weight loss is still a big focus for many people – not just in January, but year-round. Many drastic measures to lose weight are temporary and will result in weight regain when old habits return. I have found that many weight loss myths persist. Here are the top five myths regarding weight loss.

Here we are in January 2023, and once again, people say they would like to lose weight. Great. Now what? Whether this is your first, fourteenth, or 40th time embarking on a weight loss plan, you need to find what will work and is sustainable for you and your lifestyle. What is the reason, or reasons, for doing this? Why now? Because it is January? To look better, feel healthier, have more energy, or all of these? No matter the reason, consider small steps to reach more significant changes rather than a temporary overhaul.

People come to me to learn how to help and improve their health. I work with people on how food, nutrition, and behavior modification can do this and how it applies to their lives.

These things are never a one-size-fits-all approach. Ever.

I can have a framework for people. I can make a “blueprint,” – but it is never the same for everyone because we are all different.

And with weight loss, when that is their goal or what they want, we discuss this more.

The most magical number that comes up the most is TEN. The first ten pounds, the last ten pounds, the final ten pounds, another ten pounds.

The easiest and the hardest are ten pounds.

What is it about these ten pounds?

This question isn’t a judgment. It is an observation.