Let’s be honest, everyone wants to feel their best. I feel my best when I’m eating healthy, not over eating or under eating, and when I workout at least 4 times a week. I’m mentally sharp, physically strong, and full of positive energy. When we feel our best, we look our best.

If you’re struggling with feeling good about yourself, and you can’t seem to stick to a plan or find what “works” for your heart, mind and body. (I’ve been there and still have those days here and there) Don’t worry babe, you will get there. It took me years to figure out what works.

I know this might sound super lame… but trust me, I LIVE by this, “love yourself and everything will be okay.” Think about it.

Once you love yourself, you pay more attention to how your body feels NOT the way it looks, you start appreciating your self-worth, your purpose and you stop giving a damn on what (and what you think) others think of you, whether that be your ex, your friends or society in general…things will change and you will start feeling your best. I promise!

Over the weekend, I finally submitted my fitness nutrition exam…and passed!

I’m now a certified fitness nutrition specialist, so I thought this post would be

fitting. The main reason I really wanted to be certified in fitness nutrition is to help you. I wanted to help you, babes become the best version of yourself and help prevent anyone going through what I went through, by doing so. Read health story here. Eating healthy and working out can build your foundation of confidence.

I wanted to begin this series with what helped save my life…my knowledge on macros. What the hell are macros?!

Macronutrients.

They are fats, carbs and proteins.

FATS:

“Fats will make you gain fat.” FALSE

“Fats are bad for you.” FALSE

“Healthy fats are necessary for your health.” TRUE

According to ISSA, “dietary fat is important as an energy source (in fact, it’s the most energy dense macronutrient), in the manufacture and balance of hormones…in the formation of our brains and nervous systems, and in the transport of the fat soluble vitamin A,D,E, and K.”

I love fats, but with everything, I eat them in moderation. There are 9 calories in 1 gram of fat. So if a nutrition label reads 25 grams of fat, there are 225 calories of fat. Disclaimer: I do not count my macros…I have in the past, but listening to my body works best for me! This is for your knowledge only.

List of healthy fats I love incorporating in my meals:

CARBS:

According to the RDA, you need at least 130 grams of carbs a day in order to maintain brain function. That is exactly why I say counting my macros saved my life three years ago. I realized how much I was actually eating… barely anything. Carbs also consist of sugars and fiber.

90% of the people who’ve asked me to create meal plans for them with goal to lose weight, already have incredibly low carb and calorie diets. They get frustrated because their eating close to nothing and can’t seem to drop the LBS. Guess what? Eating more, helps you lose weight. I remember learning that and being like “WTF?! Prove it.”

When you eat a low carb and low fat diet, you are essentially starving yourself. Sure, at first you will see changes. Your body will lose muscle and its stored fat. However, eating too few calories can back fire. You can slow down your metabolism, which can cause weight gain, chronic fatigue, hair loss and general weakness.

For those who have came to me with a very low carb and calorie diet asking for help to lose weight, they have killed their metabolism. To fix your metabolism, you have to eat more, but not all at once. You slowly increase your carbs and healthy fats, week after week, eating small meals every 2-3 hours and then eventually you can slowly decrease them to lose body fat, and keep muscle mass.

There are 4 calories in 1 gram of carb. If a nutrition label read 25 grams of carbs, 100 calories are coming from carbs.

List of healthy carbs I love incorporating in my meals:

PROTEIN

Another essential.

Most of us know that dietary protein is essential for building or maintaining muscle. Like duhhh… that’s why some girls are scared of protein because they don’t want to get “big”…. I used to think the SAME thing.  (Not gonna happen babes)

According to ISSA, “Dietary protein is important because the amino acids that make up our proteins are responsible for everything from our structure, to our hormones, to our enzymes, to our immune chemicals, to our transport proteins and more. Although our metabolic processes can make certain amino acids, without a diet rich in the essential amino acids (those amino acids we can’t make) we cease to function.”

So protein is life…. I like to eat at least 20-25 grams of protein per each meal. I eat 5 meals a day, 2-3 hours apart! If I don’t incorporate protein in a meal, I’m still starving. I tend to graze on more food or get a craving for sweets! Protein keeps me fuller for longer and gives my body a toned look.

List of healthy proteins I love incorporating in my meals: