Hi there Reader,

Let me guess: you're showing up. You're not skipping, you're not making excuses, you're putting in real work; the lifting, the classes, the early morning cardio. You're tired. You're consistent. And you're frustrated because your body looks basically the same as it did six months ago.
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Before you overhaul your programming, download another app, or convince yourself you need to train harder, or even eat less, I want you to look at what's on your plate.
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​Specifically: what are you eating before you train? And what are you eating after?​
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For most of the active women I work with, the honest answer is not enough. And not the right things.
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Here's the part nobody tells you: when you exercise, especially strength training, HIIT, or anything sustained your body is pulling primarily from glycogen, which comes from carbohydrates.

If you go into a session fasted, under-fueled or carb-depleted, you're asking your body to perform without the fuel it actually runs on.

You fatigue faster.

You push less.

You pick up the “light weights”.

You need a nap after, when you should have energy.

Getting stronger, leaner, and noticing that change you want to see is limited because your body doesn't have what it needs to actually change.

Your body actually uses the muscle you have as an emergency quick source of fuel. Muscle is expensive! Let's not give it away.

So my tip for you…No more fasted workouts. Give your body some protein and carbohydrate before that workout (about 30 minutes before).
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After training, the window for muscle repair and recovery requires protein AND carbohydrates together about 30 minutes to 1 hour post session. This timing is specific for women.

Protein gives your muscles the building blocks to rebuild. Carbohydrates help shuttle that protein into your muscle tissue and replenish what you burned. Without both, you're recovering slower and getting less back from every session you put in.
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Here's the thing that makes women resistant to this: they've been told that eating less around workouts means faster fat loss. I get it, it sounds logical on the surface and maybe it worked in the past, but you are no longer the past you. What it actually does is keep cortisol elevated, break down muscle tissue instead of building it, and signal to your body that it needs to conserve. Your body does not give up fat easily when it thinks it's under threat. It holds on.
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What shifts all of this is being intentional with your fuel. A balanced meal or snack with whole food carbs and protein before training. A solid recovery meal with both afterward. Not a massive amount, just consistent, purposeful food.
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Women who start doing this are almost always surprised.

Energy goes up.

Sessions feel better.

They stop dreading the workouts that used to wipe them out.

And over time, the body composition actually starts to shift and not because they added more exercise or more cardio or ate less, but because they finally gave their body what it needed to do the work they were already putting in.
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You are not broken. You are probably just under-fueled for what you're asking your body to do.
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I can't wait to live a life well nourished with you!