The holiday season often conjures images of festive gatherings, joyous celebrations, and, inevitably, alcohol. For many, these moments include a glass of wine, a cocktail, or a beer to toast the occasion. However, an increasing number of people are becoming "sober curious," re-evaluating their relationship with alcohol. This movement isn't about outright abstinence but about mindfulness and understanding how alcohol impacts our bodies, especially concerning health and fitness goals. Let's explore how alcohol affects our health, particularly in the realms of fat loss, sleep, and overall wellness.

At its core, counting calories is about ensuring you consume a specific number of calories each day. It's a straightforward approach focusing solely on energy intake versus energy expenditure. While this can be effective for weight management, it doesn't address the quality or composition of the food you're eating. Tracking macros, on the other hand, involves breaking down your calorie intake into three key nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Each of these macronutrients plays a unique role in your body. By paying attention to the specific amounts of each, you can optimize not only your overall caloric intake but also support your body's functional needs.

At KLN, we require a six-month commitment from our clients, and there's a good reason for it. When you first join us, we take the time to get to know YOU – your habits, history, and what makes your daily life tick. This isn't something we can rush through-- it takes TIME! Time need to see how you live, how you interact with food, and how different factors affect your eating patterns. Getting to know you as an individual - your lifestyle, your needs, and what keeps you motivated - is crucial for providing the absolute best guidance and support from your coach.

We work within a framework of tracking macros to facilitate sustainable progress and, eventually, move away from tracking completely. However, while tracking, there are some ways we can make it easier on ourselves! In this blog post, we’re sharing our favorite tracking tips as “macro coaches,” experienced trackers, and coaches who help our clients make tracking work for them.

Navigating the aisles of Trader Joes to find high-protein options can be manageable, even with the vast array of calorie-dense novelties and goodies. You can easily incorporate more protein into your diet by focusing on items with lean meats, plant-based proteins, and convenient prepared foods. This guide should be handy to help you make informed choices that align with your nutrition goals. And soon enough, you might find yourself a Trader Joe's connoisseur.

As someone who reentered the dating world a few years ago, I never fully understood the concept of red flags. And then, suddenly, I understood the dialogue. It seemed like I was in a parade, and red flags were readily available and in abundance. But dating doesn't have the monopoly on red flags. Our bodies often wave a giant red flag in front of us, and we seem to be colorblind to it. But I want to draw your attention to calorie deficit red flags, how a reverse diet can address those red flags, and whether a reverse diet may be appropriate for you.

Tracking our food intake is a way to find out just how many calories we’re actually consuming. And we can take it one step further by trying to hit specific protein, carb, and fat intake goals. There was a time YEARS ago when I used a spreadsheet to track my intake. And when I told my mom the success I had with tracking, she started to do the same… with pen and paper. But since then, tracking has come a long way. And there are an abundance of apps available to individuals now–but I’m going to share with you the pros and cons of the three more popular apps, as well as my experience and opinions.

The holidays are a time of twinkling lights, cheerful gatherings, and copious amounts of joy-- and sometimes, stress. Consequently, you've probably found yourself frazzled amidst the festivities, wishing things were as simple as a Hallmark Christmas movie. Despite the hustle, bustle, and festivities muscle, there are a few ways you can help avoid the typical holiday burnout and still prioritize yourself.

When I started tracking macros years ago, I avoided certain foods. Rice was one choice that I tended to avoid. Consequently, sushi ended up being a close follow. When I stopped fear-mongering certain foods and sought to embark on flexibility, I reintegrated rice and enjoyed sushi again. And I'm going to encourage you to do the same. So grab your chopsticks, and let's roll, queens.   

As a dad to a toddler, mac and cheese is a staple in our house. But as someone who doesn’t enjoy keeping a ton of food items on hand, or cooking with a lot of ingredients, this three ingredient mac and cheese is a HUGE WIN. Plus, it’s high in protein, creamy, and is a great way to get some fiber with the chickpea pasta.

As nutrition coaches, we have the privilege of building close relationships with our clients as we help guide them toward their goals - be those related to aesthetics or fat loss goals, performance goals, or goals of optimal health. Along the way, as we work on building a better relationship with food and our habits, we get to share parts of our stories that are relevant to our coaching styles. We’re taking time this year to share more about us, our nutrition journeys and transformations, our road to becoming nutrition coaches and educators, and the amazing clients we have the privilege of working with. 

“I just hate eating vegetables” tends to be the most common sentence I read when I get a new client intake form. It usually comes straight after reading that said client’s main goal is to “lose fat and gain muscle.” If that gives you any consolation for not being a fan of veggies, GREAT. But in years of coaching, I’ve learned it’s not so much about hating vegetables as much as not knowing how to prepare them or make them enjoyable.

I once loved cooking, but a shift happened when I found myself unmarried with a toddler. Suddenly the bigger priority came to ensure my toddler was well-fed while I was balancing a lot on my own. Then, cooking turned into something I loathed. Over the past year, I’ve learned some new tools and methods to help manage this shift, while finding some significant overlap with ensuring my toddler has options she likes.

When you think of holiday treats, a cocktail may not be the first thing that comes to mind. But between more dinners with family or friends and other holiday celebrations, chances are you’ll run into a cocktail or two. Whether you’re hosting Christmas brunch or having a cozy snow day at home, here are some of our favorite winter cocktails.

Working the night shift has been a notoriously difficult challenge for individuals pursuing changes in their nutrition. But that doesn't mean that progress can't be made with nutrition, even on the longest of nights. Here are six tips to help you as a night shift worker in your food.

Our ability to stay reasonable when feeling incredibly stressed or emotional tends to be most challenging. And unsurprisingly, ensuring we're well fed is a significant helper and factor with us thinking (and acting) reasonably. Here are a few ideas that may be helpful to ensure you're eating enough, especially when with significant time demands and stressors.

You might be faced with some big life events throughout the year - the ones we don't anticipate and that aren't always celebrations. These are often complex, emotional, challenging, and demanding situations that can make our nutrition seem especially overwhelming. Looking at these significant life events, there are three key things I learned that I think would benefit your nutrition should you find yourself amid these big life events and life changes.

Many of us believe that the smaller we are the more acceptable we are. And the smaller we are the happier we are. But here’s the thing: Weight loss isn't therapy. Therapy with a licensed mental health practitioner is therapy.