It’s been a minute since I’ve shown up here. Allow me to explain.

In starting a new venture, it’s natural to want to do ALL of the things. There are so many things to be done, and we want to get everything done as fast as possible.

Unfortunately, in doing that…

instead of doing a few things really well, we do all of the things half assed.

In pursuit of building the best business possible, I’ve recently started a six week business course to get Savage Health up and started, for real, legit, ready to take on clients and do the damn thing.

In this course, one of the first thing we’re encouraged to do is to practice essentialism.

So what is essentialism?

In an over simplified nutshell, it’s saying YES to everything in that is a HELL YES and saying NO to anything else.

• That means saying no to something that might be a yes, but not a hell yes.
• That might mean saying no to a great opportunity because it’s not what you’re focusing on right now.
• It might mean saying no to something you really enjoy doing because it isn’t absolutely necessary right this moment.

And that’s where we’re at my friends. We’re practicing essentialism so we can bring you the best damn coaching business possible.

Everything else is second to that and the reason why I’ve taken a pause with the blog and will continue to put it on hold.

Truthfully, I love writing and I am looking forward to circling back around to the blog to bring you long form, education, quality content.

In the mean time, I’m going to practice what I preach and what I want my clients to focus on: making changes in areas that are going to provide the most bang for your buck, the pieces that are the most essential to making change….in a word… essentialism. Everything else can wait.

So fear not, I will be back. But right now…writing a blog is a no. Not forever, just for now.

In the mean time, if you want to keep up with what’s going on at Savage Health, head on over to the ‘gram for free content.

On the ‘gram we talk about CrossFit, veganism, cats, nutrition, health, wellness, making changes, consistency, resiliency, gratitude, living our best life, adventuring and everything in between.

Thanks for being part of the journey. I look forward to coming back stronger and ready to go!

The post Practicing Essentialism & why we’re taking a break appeared first on Savage Adventures | Are You Ready To…Spark Joy?.

I’m an OG meal planner & prepper.

I still write my lists on a paper (ok, let’s be honest, I have a bound notebook dedicated to writing my shopping lists) it’s not a problem, it’s a way of life. I plan out our weekly menus from breakfast to lunch, to dinner  and snacks.  I don’t usually buy it if it’s not on the list. I spend a few hours every weekend taking time to plan and prep our foods in advance to save time during the week.

I’m not asking for a round of applause (although, please, feel free!), but I’ve decided it’s finally time to share my go to meal planning & prepping hacks, tips, tricks & give you the inside scoop.

This week we’re going to talk about the benefits of having a plan, especially when it comes to our meals!

Does this sound like your kinda thing? (hi, hello, are we best friends?)

Let’s dive in & get right to the “WHY” behind meal planning (stay tuned for prepping tips next week!).

We’ve all heard the infamous quote “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”

This is one of my all time favorite expressions that really drives the point home here.

If we have health & fitness goals we’re trying to reach, we want to be healthier, we want to feel better, we want to look better, we want to improve the quality of our life… well, friends, then, we NEED a plan. 

Sure, we can wing it for a little while; however, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”. Eventually, winging it just won’t cut it. 

Let’s talk about some benefits to meal planning. 

• It helps us avoid a less healthful “drive-through” dinner.
• It helps us keep on track & make choices that align with our goals.
• It give us options, especially when things don’t go according to plan! (because we all know even the best laid plans don’t go according to plan sometimes)
• It helps us be honest about our food intake & portion sizes.
• It can increase the amount of fruits & vegetables we eat.
• It helps us eat the proper portion sizes instead of mindlessly eating.
• It helps establish a memory for portion size, which then affects the satiety that is experienced after a meal has been consumed.
• It also reduces waste. (yay environment!)

• Other benefits of planned meals include:
  • cost savings
  • more efficient grocery shopping
  • fewer food shopping trips to purchase forgotten items
  • ultimately save time
  • can help with weight control because we decide the ingredients and portions served
  • can contribute to an overall more nutritionally balanced diet
  • can reduce stress by avoiding last minute decisions about what to eat, or rushed preparation

Meal planning also helps to make mealtimes more relaxed and minimize the negative effects associated with chaotic mealtimes, such as increased anxiety and depression in children. 
It improves the ease with which families are able to eat meals together and reap the myriad of benefits associated with family mealtimes such as:

• nutritional benefits (higher intakes of fruit, vegetables, fiber, calcium, and several vitamins, and reduced intake of soft drinks and saturated fat)
• social benefits  (reduced risk of substance abuse and disordered eating, enhanced psychosocial well-being, better academic performance)

There are so many benefits to planning meals ahead of time. And although the benefits are abundant, there are still so many people who do not plan their meals ahead of time for so many reasons.  It can feel very overwhelming to start, especially if you don’t even know where to begin.

My best recommendation: Start where you are! 

If you now eat fast food or takeout several nights of the week…your goal may be to choose a specific day of the week to create a food shopping list and hit the grocery store.
If you already food shop once a week and have basic cooking skills…your goal may be to choose one day a week to do most of the cooking, or try a new recipe.
If you already cook some weekday meals for your family…you might decide to create a schedule so that you are not deciding last minute what to make and to ensure you have the needed ingredients on hand.

Here’s how to get started…

1. Discuss with your family or decide for yourself which types of foods and favorite meals they/you like to eat.
2. Create a list of  favorite meal ideas, recipes and shopping lists – Having a record of favorites makes it easy to create a rotation and pick something when we’re feeling uninspired 
3. Collect healthy recipes: Find healthier versions of your favorite recipes (For example: swap sour cream for Greek yogurt or use 1 tablespoon of oil vs 2 tablespoons)
4. Consider specific meals or foods for different days of the week: Taco Tuesday, Homemade Pizza Friday, Italian Wednesdays, etc. 
5. Start small: If we’re not meal prepping at all, “going ham” on 7 days a week can be a lot. Aim to create enough dinners or lunches for 2-3 days more than you currently are.

Meal planning can feel overwhelming at first.  Start where you are and aim to be just a little bit better than the meal or day before.  Have a plan & commit to sticking to it. Getting the whole family involved can make it easier to stay on track, it can be a fun family activity to do together & gets everyone on board with trying new, healthy, delicious meals. 

Stay tuned for next week’s tips on meal prepping. Make it a great week friends.  We’ve got this. 

Keep going,
Jess 

The post Meal Planning 101 appeared first on Savage Adventures | Are You Ready To…Spark Joy?.

It’s a motto, a mindset, a whole mood.

It sounds crazy, right? Why would someone voluntarily do something that sucks? Hang on, hear me out…

If there’s something we’re not good at, something we don’t like to do, or something we really want to get better at – we have to show up for it, face it and do something about it. We have to commit to putting in the work, commit to making a concerted effort to get better at it, or it will always continue to suck.

While some things in life really do just suck (hello, taxes!), sometimes things suck because they’re difficult for us or they’re boring or they’re outside our comfort zone or they’re just plain hard. (That’s ok, we can and we DO hard things!)

The bottom line is, the harder we work, the more effort we put into whatever this thing is… the less it sucks. The ONLY way to get better at something, to make it suck less, is by working on it, by practicing day in and day out. Little by little, day by day… it gets easier, we get stronger, it sucks a little less, it’s not as difficult for us.

Let’s put this into a real, life tangible situation.

For me, it’s running.

Sometimes, I forget how hard running is for me. I have never consistently run. I don’t particularly enjoy running, and if I’m being honest, I kind of think it sucks. (To be fair, it’s not entirely running’s fault!)

I used to say “I suck at running“, but the truth is, I don’t practice running. I don’t spend the time getting better at it. I don’t prioritize making it suck less. I suck at running because I don’t run. So, on the occasion when I do run, like when someone is chasing me or it’s programmed in a CrossFit workout (do you see the look of suffering?)  or when I confuse the words “yes” and “no” and agree to run with friends… IT SUCKS!

Real talk,

if I really wanted to get better at running, I would have to actually RUN. So instead of saying “I suck at running” or “running sucks”, I remind myself that in fact, I do not practice running, nor do I run and that is why “it sucks”.

In my life, showing up and doing hard things, the things that suck, the things that are boring or mundane or seem unnecessary, I do them because they make me feel strong and empowered. Doing things that suck and seeing the improvements reminds me I can do hard things. I can show up for myself, and when I can show up for myself and follow through with my commitments to myself, it makes me feel like I’m a little bit better today than I was the day before.

The bottom line…

instead of looking at something as sucking, maybe we can look at it as something we have A LOT of room for improvement on, room for growth.

Once we start working on it, chipping away, practicing a little bit every day… it starts to suck less. The activity is no different from when we started and thought it sucked, we’re just a little stronger, a little more prepared, a little more resilient.

Once we’ve practiced many, many, many times, we’ve put in the work, we’ve put in the hours, and it doesn’t actually suck anymore …. WE ARE SO PROUD – as we should be! (heck-freaking-yes!) We put in the work, we really freaking did it. We practiced, we put in the time, consistency, and patience, and we can see the progress! Making a commitment and sticking with it brings about amazing changes.

So here’s a challenge for all of us:

• Pick ONE thing that sucks, and make a commitment to work on it
• Work on it for the next week, maybe two, heck- work on it for a month!
• See what happens after really working at it (and be honest – if we don’t put in the work, we cannot expect the results!)

Once it starts to suck less, try it with something else. The possibilities are endless!

It might suck in the beginning, but I PROMISE it does get better, or… maybe we just get better. Either way, keep doing what sucks, friends. It’s the only way to make it suck less.

What are you committing to work on? I’d love to know! 💛

Send an email, send a DM on facebook or instagram. Let’s share our commitments to ourselves with others and help hold each other accountable. Imagine how far we can go!

We’ve got this. We’ve made it through every single obstacle that has come our way so far.

Keep going,
Jess

The post Do what sucks! appeared first on Savage Adventures | Are You Ready To…Spark Joy?.

If we want to see lasting, sustainable results, patience, consistency & honesty are key. We have to trust the process & stay the course – even when we don’t see progress, even when we make mistakes. We’re in this for the long haul (the rest of our lives, right?!).  We need something sustainable, that fits our lifestyle & our needs, something we can do day in & day out.  

“Maybe it’s not you that’s failing, maybe it’s your diet or program that’s failing you! “

If your diet and/or fitness program don’t check these boxes, maybe it’s not you that’s failing, maybe it’s your diet or program that’s failing you! If you’ve found a diet and/or program that you think is the right fit for you & you’re still not seeing changes, it might be time to consider the following…. 

• It’s almost impossible to create sustainable changes in our lives when we’re constantly changing what we’re doing whether it’s with our diet or our fitness routine.  Our goal is to find something we can implement consistently, commit to the process & lean in. 
• When we’re always stopping & starting over again, we’re not going to see the results we’re looking for.  Instead of quitting or starting over again when there’s a hiccup, we get off track, or we fall back into old patterns; try to make the next best decision that aligns with your goals.  Mistakes, hiccups, bumps in the road WILL happen, it’s inevitable, but it’s how we push past these bumps that will get us the results we desire.
• Continually trying something for a few weeks & giving up is a quick way to burn ourselves out & to throw our bodies through a loop.  We need to pick a program or diet we can incorporate into our daily lives & stick with it, even when it’s hard or boring.
• Having an “it doesn’t count” mentality isn’t doing us any favors.  The extra handful of candy, the bite of someone else’s meal, the weekends, going out to a restaurant, celebrations, vacations … they all count.  And while there’s a time & place to just enjoy ourselves, if we’re doing it every week, we’re not going to get results!  
• And if we’re just winging it… no plan, no way to track our progress, no system, no support,  just crossing our fingers & hoping for the best… change will not come.  In order to successfully implement change into our lives, we need a plan! 

Change comes from…

…consistency, patience, & honesty, collecting data & adjusting accordingly, having a plan & systems in place as well as a support system, and implementing small changes while tracking progress.  We all know this is much easier said than done.  This is why we have plans & systems in place to help us. 

Having systems in place for your health & fitness goals are essential.

Find a diet or fitness program that is right for you.  Something you can repeat over & over again.  Something you can see yourself doing for the long haul.  When you do, lean in, trust the process & stay the course.  At times, it may be boring or mundane but I can promise, that’s where the magic happens.

At Savage Health, we teach you how to incorporate sustainable habits into your daily life to get the results you want.  We just ask one thing, trust the process & stay the course. 

If you’re interested in working together to create sustainable habits in your life to get the results you desire, fill out an application & we’ll be in touch soon.

Keep going,
Jess

The post Consistency & Patience appeared first on Savage Adventures | Are You Ready To…Spark Joy?.

Because we’re not robots. 🤖

There isn’t a “one size fits all” or a diet that is best for everyone. Each person is different with unique experiences. What works for one person, may not work for someone else; what has worked for us, may not work for you.

We also know that health is more than just the food you eat or how you choose to move your body. Health encompasses mental, physical, social, existential, intellectual, sexual, purposeful, + environment health just as much as, if not more than, nutrition and exercise.

We call this a deep health approach.

A deep health approach encourages us to look at more than what’s on the surface and address the whole picture.

If one area of health is suffering, odds are more than likely other areas of health will lack or suffer as well, it’s only a matter of time. Being in tune with and nurturing all aspects of our wellness is key to being our most healthy self . Ultimately, we are not individual parts, but the sum of our whole.

This is why we encourage everyone to nourish, care for & be in touch with all aspects of their health, so they can live life as their best, most healthy self.

When we lean in to taking care of ourselves just like we would care for those in our life that we love, that’s where the magic happens.

After all, we cannot fill from an empty cup. We cannot continue to give to and love others in the capacity we want if we are not caring for ourselves in all areas of our health as well. Making time for ourselves and following through on promises & commitments we make to ourselves is just as important as the time & commitments we give and make for our loved ones.

We understand it can be hard to take care of ourselves when we’re always busy taking care of others. It takes practice, patience & consistency. Over time, caring for ourselves becomes just as much second nature as caring for those we love.

Here are a few ways to get started:

• Make time. – Set an alarm, schedule it in a calendar, write it in a planner – just like with any other appointment.
• Take a 5 minute action. – Make the most out of the time we do have; maybe we can’t do it all today; d what we can with the time we have
• Progress not perfection. – Aim to be 1% better than the time before. We are never going to do it perfectly – celebrate the improvements
• Show grace. – Some days will be better than others. When we make a mistake or get off track, commit to getting back on track as soon as we can

Be consistent, patient & trust the process. Keep going! We’ve got this.

Keep going,
Jess

The post A Deep Health Approach appeared first on Savage Adventures | Are You Ready To…Spark Joy?.

Hi, friend!  I’m Jess – nutrition coach, founder & CEO of Savage Health LLC. I help women feel in control of their health & fitness goals without over restricting or giving up all of the foods they love.  I tell it like it is – no BS, no sugar coating – the authentic, real deal! Whatever brought you here, I’m glad you came.  Stick around for free content, a little sass, a dash of sarcasm, maybe even a little humor- whatever floats your boat!

Sound like your cup of tea? Want to find out more?

Here are some random, weird facts about me & why I created Savage Health LLC.

• I’m a vegan, and I grew up hunting & fishing. I cook meat for my husband & I believe everyone is entitled to eat a diet that is healthy, works for them, meets their needs & they can follow consistently. 
• I’m athletic and love moving my body.  Lifting weights, hiking, kayaking, walking, and being outdoors are my jam. HOWEVER I cannot play sports- like I can’t even catch a football, I duck & run. (Not all of us were blessed with the ability to easily catch a ball flying through the air, I’ve learned to accept who I am, shortcomings & all haha.)
• I’m a rule follower- to a T, maybe a little neurotic…. UNLESS I don’t agree with the rule, then I break it immediately & don’t think about it twice.
• I’m extroverted & outgoing, AND I have social anxiety. I need time to myself to rest and recharge. I’m uncomfortable in many social settings, and I like to be around people.

I struggled with body image, nutrition & loving myself for many years.

I was never good at sports, didn’t know how to feed myself properly, and could only focus on my flaws. I spent most of my 20s figuring out all the health & fitness things that DON’T work in order to find what actually DOES! Once I was finally able to fuel myself properly & incorporate daily movement that I LOVE-  everything changed!  Caring about my health & fitness has taught me to love & embrace all of the things that make me weirdly, uniquely ME. 

I truly believe living a healthy lifestyle as your most authentic self is the key to having it all! And, my friend, YOU deserve to have it all! Fad diets, 1200 calorie meal plans,  yo-yo dieting, cutting out entire food groups, no sugar, gluten-free, keto – they’re not sustainable. (Have you already figured this out the hard way?) I don’t want you to spend years of your life making the same mistakes I did. This is why I created Savage Health – to help badass women (men, you’re welcome too!) reach their true potential through proper nutrition & moving their bodies. 

Are you picking up what I’m putting down?

Hell yes! Welcome aboard. I am so grateful for you. Stick around for tips, tricks, & life hacks to a healthier, happier version of you! 

Want to take it to the next level?

I like your style! I offer 1:1 health & nutrition coaching. Fill out the application here and let’s make sure we’re a good fit. 

The post Welcome to Savage Health! appeared first on Savage Adventures | Are You Ready To…Spark Joy?.