If you have ever felt totally overwhelmed trying to figure out what to eat, you are not alone, and this episode is for you. From carbs to protein to “is this even healthy?” host Sarah Crews sits down with seasoned nutrition and wellness consultant Holly Harris to cut through the noise and offer real, sustainable advice for nourishing your body, boosting energy, and feeling good in your skin.

With 22 years of experience, Holly shares practical ways to stop obsessing and start making confident choices around food. They talk about how less isn't always more, how to build lasting habits, and why you can have the margarita and still meet your goals. Plus, Holly shares the most important lab tests to help you understand your body and hormones better.

🧪 Holly’s Recommended Lab Panel for Women:

• CBC + Platelet Count (w/out Differential)
• CMP
• Estradiol
• Progesterone
• Total Testosterone
• Free Testosterone
• TSH
• T3 Free
• T4 Free
• FSH
• Vitamin D Hydroxy
• DHEA Sulfate
• IGF-1
• LH
• A1C

🔗 Order labs online: privatemdlabs.com

📍Connect with Holly: hollylainharris.com

well hello and welcome to the lessons from your hairstylist podcast. I'm your host and hairstylist friend Sarah Cruz. Have you ever just wondered to yourself like what the hell do I need to eat to lose some weight? Have you ever thought to yourself like there's so much information out there and you kind of think you know and then all of a sudden you find out no that's not really right we should be doing this over here. No carbs, some carbs, all protein, no protein, vegan, all these things like

With all of the information out there, sometimes it can be so confusing. And especially if you're trying to lead a healthy lifestyle, you may be trying to lose some weight, maybe trying to put some muscle on your frame. It is very hard to know, even though you might have the best intentions and you wanna do the right thing. Sometimes it's just so hard to know what the heck to do. And I know that I have that.

Confusion all the time. I'm always trying to research I'm always trying to find out what's the truth and you'll find like tik-tok and Instagram and you'll have Influencers and people saying this and experts saying this I'm listening to podcasts. I'm doing all this stuff and it's just like what is the actual truth? So I am so excited today to finally talk to somebody who has been doing this research and has 22 years of education behind her Holly Harris is a nutrition and wellness consultant and

And she is somebody who has been doing a deep dive for a long, long time. She knows the truth. She knows what's going on and she continues to stay up on the latest research and information out there as to how we can truly make progress and do it in the most efficient way possible. So if this interests you, please stay here with us as we talk to Holly because this is going to be a good one.

Holly, thank you so much for coming on. I'm so excited to finally be putting some of this confusion to rest.

Well, thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here. Yeah, it's awesome.

Absolutely.

I'll tell you what, just like we were talking about at the top of the episode, so much confusion out there. And I know you've been out there doing the Lord's work, just like figuring it all out for us. So, you know, we got to have somebody we can look to to figure out what the hell are we supposed to be eating out here?

Thanks

It is confusing,

you're right. Yeah, there's a ton of information and every week it's something new,

every week it's something new. So

I'd love to just learn a little bit about your background first off, just how you got into the health and fitness space and then just maybe give us a little bit of an intro into what it is we can be looking at when we are making those choices day to day.

Sure. Well, yeah, I've been doing it for 22 years, probably very consistently. 24 years, the first two years was a little loosey goosey, In terms of like narrowing down what I really wanted to get into, So, but how I came about getting, you know, starting to work with clients one-on-one is, you know, of course it started with myself first, I had just had my, I had just gotten out of school and, you know, had basic freshman

and 15 was having some issues with digestion and those types of things. And every physician that I would see, you know, wanted to put me on some sort of pharmaceutical, to help with the constipation,

And I knew even then that that's not the avenue I wanted to, you know, to take, So I knew there had to be a better way. And so I started digging into nutrition and fitness for myself, One, just to feel better about how I was looking and lean out a little bit, but then also see if I could change my diet to also eliminate this issue of, you know, chronic constipation, right? So...

I found a lady that was a natural path and I started working with her and it was very interesting because she started off by asking me what I was eating in a day, basic questions, And just in that intake alone, I was like, ⁓ yeah, I don't eat enough food with fiber, And that's probably true of most of us, but we'll dig into that too a little bit later on about the components that are extremely important that you should just basic things to focus on, right?

I'm looking

forward to that. want, I need the most.

Yeah.

So how I got into it was that, Like it was started off with myself. Then I actually job shadowed her for quite a while, about six, nine months. And just kind of saw what she did in her day to day practice, as far as like making recommendations to her patients in regards to like how to change up their diet or add supplements and those types of things to make them feel better, but also optimize their health. And so it really kicked off there. And then once I

had children, have two, an 18 year old and a 16 year old now, then there was a whole new thing that happened, So, and that was hormonal shifts. And so then that spurred my education to kind of change and start learning more about

how the body works as a whole.

So over the years, all the education has been mostly in hands-on application in terms of looking at how the body functions as a whole, And not just one individual component of it.

And the other thing that, you know, as we age, we're also looking at ways to, you know, incorporate anti-aging as well,

I kind of feel like when you're searching out someone, to work with you to develop the right plan for you, you do want to pay attention to what is their background, How much time have they actually spent studying? you really want to find someone that's going to look at you as a whole person, Like, what's your history?

what was your family dynamic like growing up? What were you like in your early years? What are you like now? And making it fit your lifestyle and make it so that it's something that you can stick to and it's not a die it, It's more of you just changing simple habits and things to create the change you want to see in your body.

How do you feel about, ⁓ do you label food good or bad?

Yes.

you, is it okay if I do go out occasionally and have a cocktail? You gotta find somebody that you can work with too that understands you and your lifestyle, for

So as you're looking to

someone to work with, know in terms of whether you want You know to lose weight or you just want to feel healthier or you're trying to actually work with some sort of condition that you have I think it's important that you find a practitioner that has Experience in knowing how the whole body works as a whole not just one part,

I would say that, you know, for anybody listening that's trying to find someone to work with, those are the types of questions that you should be asking and looking at. And also letting them know too, what is your top priority, but also understanding that, you know, you're a human being and you're going to go to a birthday party. You're probably going to eat cake. You're probably going to have pizza. And I think it's important that you set up realistic expectations with the person that you plan on working with as well to say like, Hey, I'm not.

I don't want to live

So you want to find somebody who has experience and understanding that you don't have to label foods good or

You want to find somebody that looks at food as

So you're going to get certain things from the pizza that you may or may not get. Obviously, if you were to pick a meal that was chicken, broccoli,

So you want to find someone that can work with you and that balance of what you're looking for

for long term, You wanna find a coach that understands that the body is one whole complete unit and you probably have some deficiencies and you probably have some things that are over also, And trying to bring them into balance to make it so that you can live your best life, most optimized.

Yes,

and I love that and I feel like when you were talking about how you got into it, I feel that all the best people in their field are always ones who have started with some kind of struggle themselves. You said you were dealing with digestion issues and you were looking to solve that issue.

And I know that it's not just about weight loss, it's about your gut and about your how you feel and your digestion. And I love what you're saying about how the body all works together. And there's so many different components. And we're not seeing that when we get these snippets off of the internet from social media. We're not seeing all of those different factors that go into it. And I love what you're saying about

Knowing what's really important to you when you go to find somebody to work with because you're right some people don't mind living restricted because they have some really hardcore goals, you know, and maybe that's what that's the most important thing to them But it could be for somebody else where it's like no, I just want to make sure that I'm basically healthy I have enough muscle and that I'm not overweight, but I am gonna enjoy the birthday cake I am gonna have some margaritas and some Mexican food and I'm gonna live my life so

Where's the balance and I just love that you're talking about balance and is it possible? I mean, can you have those things and how much of that stuff can you

of all the people that I coach, can't stress enough that you should be eating in a way that fits your lifestyle. If you try to tell yourself...

that you want to and there and I guess I understand that there are some people who can handle being restricted, but the majority of people that is not true, Yes, I can be restricted for 10 or 12 weeks getting ready for a competition or something like that. But long term, no, And I don't really know anybody who can live that way long term, Where they're never gonna have, you the birthday cake or the margarita or the whatever, But.

you absolutely can reach your goals and still have a margarita, still have some pizza, still go out for Mexican food. But the key is balance, And understanding what does your body need in order to make the change,

And the majority of people that I work with, females in particular, all under eat for the most part, Because we think less is going to get us to us dropping another five pounds or 10 pounds or whatever that is, But if you don't eat enough,

to fuel your body, you are not going to let go of stored fat. You are going to lose muscle mass and you are going to hold on to body fat. So if you see a drop on the scale because you cut your calories down to 1,100 or 1,200 or 1,000, Guarantee you what you lost.

was the good stuff that you've spent a long time working on in the gym or picking up your kids or just your, even your housework or your chores, The muscle mass, you're losing that before you lose body fat because body fat is essential. Muscle is not, So in order to keep your brain functioning, to keep your organs functioning, you have to have fat, It's an essential component to your body. Your body is not going to drop it first.

It will drop muscle mass first. It is not essential for you to stay alive,

is so discouraging and it's

so hard to get enough food in. I'm telling you, like, you've got to be really planned about it. You really have to.

Yeah,

you do have to be intentional with what you're eating, But that gets easier, Yes, the first few weeks whenever you start a new plan and someone tells you, you need to eat this much protein, this many carbs, this many fats,

Yes.

That's overwhelming and it's time consuming and it is a part-time job. There is no way around that. Yes, it feels super hard, but you give it four or five weeks, it gets so much easier. Is it still hard? Yes. Because you're still gonna have things that pop up and you gotta work through it,

But once you get over the initial hump of understanding what you need and how much of it you need, then it does become much easier to do. Then what ends up happening is the boredom, Because you're like, well, you know, because you kind of figure out what fits and how easy it is to be like, I'll just make this much chicken, this much, you know, whatever, couscous, whatever it is you're gonna eat, exactly.

I eat the same thing all the time and I don't mind it. You know, I don't mind

it but.

And it's like, okay,

you need to explore some spices and seasoning.

We do, cheat a lot too, so.

But if you want to eat out, then we're going to make it fit, So the idea is, like, okay, so tonight my son is graduating from high school. So I am, we're going to have, you know, some pizza and we'll have some cocktails, And so I've already logged or I already know for today, I'm going to eat, I've already put in how many pieces of pizza I plan on having. I already know how many cocktails I plan to drink. That just means earlier in the day today, like I literally have been eating mostly protein and vegetables so that can

save my carbs and fats for tonight. So I don't have to feel guilty. I don't have to feel bad about it. I'm still going to be on track and I won't have any issues with my digestion. I'm not going to have any big crazy swings, I'm still going to be able to participate with my kids and my family and I'm not missing out, So takes away the guilt, And now I'm still on plan. And then tomorrow, yeah, I'll get right back to probably my same boring foods that I eat most of the time, But...

Yes.

The most important thing to someone who is trying to lose fat is consistency and time. And you have to know that it is slow. There it is.

it's so easy to look for an easy quick

fix. And I mean, it's out there too about, you know, their supplements. And I know like when you started, medication was the answer and you were looking for an alternative, like a natural way to solve your digestion issues. But medication always seems like it's the first and the easiest thing to grab for. You've got GLP-1s now.

Woo!

Yeah!

even like supplements that are out there that are being touted as, know, burns fat and it speeds up your metabolism and all this stuff. And it's so tempting to want to just go to something like that rather than having to take the tiny steps on the front end to work up to being proficient at it. feel like it's, think like you start somewhere and you make one little change and you build and you build and you build. And like you said,

It's a whole journey where you can't do it all at once. And I think that's where people get really overwhelmed. Where would you say would be a really good, really small change that somebody could make if they were just starting on this and they're looking at the big picture and they're like, my God, log my pizza and my vegetables ahead of time. That's too much trouble. I don't know how to do that. It's so overwhelming.

Yes.

Where's one tiny little place that somebody could start if they want to get on the train to like, I need to lose 10, 20 pounds or even more.

Yeah.

The first place I would start is make sure you're drinking enough water, So number one, drink enough water. And for most of us, that is a bare minimum of 100 ounces a day. Now, that increases depending on how much muscle mass you have, and then it also depends on what your activity level is like,

But let's just say you're somebody who struggles with water and you only average maybe 32 ounces of water a day. So then your first goal should be, okay, I'm gonna get to 48 ounces every day this week. And then in two weeks after you've been consistent with that, add another 10, 12 ounces to that, And just gradually add it. Because yes, I don't want you to be in the bathroom all day long, But if you are not drinking enough water,

you

It also means you are not functioning at the highest place possible metabolically, Because you are 70%, 75 % water, And if this is dehydrated inside, Then your metabolic burn rate is automatically lower, Because you're not efficient, You're not.

interesting.

Those

organs are not hydrated enough to do their job, To operate at the highest level. So step one, get enough water in, And just gradually be working on that. But then number two is I would, so it depends on what, so if it's only 10 pounds, you have to lose. I would take whatever your goal weight is and that's how many grams of protein you need a day.

Okay.

Ooh, that's a good one, okay.

If you're somebody who's overweight, like has more to lose, Like 20 pounds, 50 pounds, whatever. I would probably just start, you know, if you're a female, I would say 120, 130 is the grams of protein to aim for, So like say you weigh 200 pounds or more, You don't need to try to get to 180 grams of protein, you know, right off the bat. That would be harder to do, So maybe just 120 to 130 if you're really overweight and need to get started somewhere.

And then the other simple thing is two fruits every day. I don't care what they are, just two fruits. two fruits and three to four servings of veggies a day.

Really? This is so good. Okay.

What is a serving?

So a serving of fruit in my world is, I consider it to be equivalent to 15 carbs. Now that's a little complicated right now, So just think of it as like a cup of berries, Or think of it as half of a banana is one serving. So if you eat a whole banana, you already nailed out two. Good,

about macros and we're about to blow people's mind. Okay.

huh.

If it is a pear or an apple or a peach or a nectarine, that's one, If it's cantaloupe, watermelon, know, something along those lines, mango, papaya, those types of fruits. If it's a mango or papaya, it's probably half of the fruit, as one serving. If it is watermelon and cantaloupe, that's actually quite significant. That's probably closer to two, two and a half cups, you know, chopped up, you know, as one.

So chopped up like in like one inch cubes, For basic starting point, perfect. About two and a half cups. And the reason why is watermelon and cantaloupe are water dense,

Okay, perfect.

So you can have more of it, They're not, so like a banana, the reason why I only have a banana, The nutrients are very dense in it. It's not that a banana is bad, It's just that the banana is,

denser in terms of its nutrition. So you don't get as much of it in volume as you do cantaloupe and watermelon, Cause they're more water fiber. That's really it, They got some vitamin C. Nothing else is really in there. So, so when it comes to a portion of vegetables, I would say it's a cup, So like a cup of broccoli, or maybe it's a cup of spinach, and then you throw on some chopped peppers and mushrooms and onions or whatever it is you want on it, That's totally fine. But you want to get a close to three to four cups of veggies a day.

Okay.

Right. Yeah. What about vegetables?

Okay.

Yeah. Yeah. If you can nail that, like if you can nail the veggies, the two fruits and that protein goal, then one, your cravings are gonna go away. And two, you are going to feel more energy also, Because you're getting the nutrients and the vitamins from those fruits and veggies, but then from the protein, you're also sustaining your lean mass. Yes, you do need some complex carbs.

That's a lot.

Yeah.

which we can talk about, but if you can nail just those basic things, the water, protein, fruits, and veggies, you'll lose weight.

think I'm pretty good on that, but I do, we're too heavy on the alcohol at this point. But what about the frozen vegetables, like the bird's eye, whatever, like in the frozen section? I mean, is that okay? Is that cheating?

Yeah, well we can talk about alcohol.

Yeah, so it'll be fine. Yeah, you know, obviously

if you can get veggies fresh, that's the best way, But I live in Northwest Colorado and there are no fresh veggies except for maybe two months out of the year and that's it, So we do eat a lot of frozen veggies, So the thing you're looking for when you're buying frozen fruits or vegetables is that there's no added sugar, no added oils, no added ⁓ ingredients to it. It's just...

Yeah. Yeah.

Okay,

flash frozen fruits or vegetables. Yeah, exactly.

it's just the vegetables, flash frozen. Okay. And then obviously if you're doing salads and you're throwing chicken or tuna on there, mean, a cup of, I mean, romaine, is that a vegetable?

Yes, if you want to eyeball it, If you're

eyeballing it, it's about the size of the palm of your hand, That's like one portion of protein, So that's about how much you need to get the equivalent to about 30 grams of protein. So if you need 120, Then you need four portions of this a day. But that could be animal protein, that could be a protein powder, that can be some cottage cheese, this could be Greek yogurt,

Mmm.

Okay.

guys.

It can be any source of a lean protein.

Yeah, I

love the cottage cheese and the yogurt. That's a staple over here in my house. I that's how I get a lot of protein and eggs too.

Yeah.

Eggs, egg whites

is the protein, The yolk is the fat. So you just want to be mindful of how many fats you eat in a day. So, you know, people always laugh at me. I typically eat, you know, like seven egg whites and one whole egg, you know, in one. And that gets me 30 grams of protein and six grams of fat, So it's a lean, that's a complete lean protein there. Yeah.

Okay,

so if you like scramble up one egg in the morning and then like you add the seven egg whites, it's okay. Like egg beater or something like that, okay? Okay.

Yeah, you could do as, yeah, could do

liquid or you could do whole and just separate the yolks, you know. If you feel guilty about throwing out the yolks, give them to your cat or dog, you know.

Okay, perfect.

Yeah, yeah What about a plant-based diet? I was hard to get I mean, I know a lot of people are kind of like, oh I'm vegan or vegetarian whatever It's like is it hard? Can you get the types of proteins that you really need through those types of diets?

You

can, yes. So I do think that the important thing about vegan and plant-based is that you really have to be strategic in how you pair up your foods to make sure you're getting in the right

quantity of protein versus carbs, Because those diets are definitely going to be higher in carbs, which carbs are not bad. It's just that you want them in the proper relationship to the protein that you're taking in. So there is a little bit more planning with it, I feel like. ⁓ So I was plant-based for about 18 months. I just wanted to see what would happen, Meaning like I wanted to see in my blood work,

Right?

what changes actually took place, Because at the time I did the experiment, there was a really popular Netflix documentary that was claiming, you know, all these things about plant-based versus animal diets. So was like, well, I'm just going to do it myself and see what happens, So there, if you're doing it for ethical reasons, that's a completely different thing,

Mm-hmm.

Go

for it. Awesome. Do it. But just make sure you are trying your best to stay as balanced as possible to the ratio of protein that you need versus your carbs, And I would also say like you need to stick away, stay away from ⁓ all of the processed, manufactured fake meat type products, So like beyond meat,

Mmm, it.

Tofu is different, tofu is

different, because tofu is a plant-based, I mean that's what plant-based, yes it goes through a processing type.

Thank

of treatment, to get it into the form that it's in, but there's no, there's not a lot of additives to it, Like when you, when I'm talking, what I'm talking about is more of like the Beyond Meat type products, Like where they make like the veggie patties or you buy like, or it's just looks like fake ground turkey or ground meat, Like in the package that tastes like beef because of all the

right.

Bye!

chemicals they had to add to it to make it taste like beef, And what ends up happening is it's no longer a real, you know, there's not a lot of protein in it, There's more fats in it because that's what's adding flavor, And then your fat content is significantly higher and you probably would have been better off just to eat a real piece of beef, Now, if you're doing it because you're, yeah, you have reasons for, you know,

Yeah. Yeah.

whatever ethical reasons for eating plant-based, you can definitely do

just strongly encourage you to like, yes, you do need to log or write it down just so you make sure like the ratio between the proteins and the carbs are where they need to be for you to lose fat and hold onto your muscle mass. So it's completely doable. It is definitely harder to do, but it can be done. Yeah.

Hmm.

heard.

Okay.

But, ⁓ know, like for myself personally, it was like, I didn't feel that fantastic, And I actually didn't do a great job at holding onto muscle tissue during that phase because I didn't...

Thank

you know, something about the makeup of it, I definitely had changes in my lab work, Now that's not to say that would happen to you or to anyone else, But I'm a huge believer, and women especially, but men also, getting blood work done every six months, especially if you're over the age of 35.

Ooh,

that's good. I mean, what type of blood work and what types of tests do we need?

So I

can, I will, we'll make sure to post it. Like I'll send you the link. But it is, but there's a, there's a panel that I usually have my clients get and it includes the standards,

I would love that, okay.

so the ones that I recommend, I mean, you're gonna, your standard panel, So like your CBC, the CMP for sure. Then we're gonna add on things like total esterol, progesterone, total testosterone, your thyroid panel, vitamin D. ⁓ There's another one I like to look at, which is DHEA and then the IGF-1, LH and then A1C. Now.

When you're over the age of 35, typically female and male, This is where hormones are starting to really change, And have more fluctuations and they do play a role in your body's ability to lose fat and hold on to muscle mass, So we do want to start looking at that and as soon as possible because

You wanna catch it as soon as you can so that you minimize that transition, Meaning like, if you're a female that is maybe you're going through perimenopause or menopause early, You wanna be paying attention to where those numbers are so that you can regulate them as best as possible, either through your nutrition or through a supplement or yes, HRT, hormone replacement therapy.

so that you try to stay as optimized as possible, For men, it's the same, because testosterone will start to drop and estradiol, because men also have estrogen, Sometimes that balance becomes out of line and some men will start to put on more fat, especially like love handle type area, And maybe like a little bit in like at the belly, And that is usually because their estradiol level picked up and their testosterone has dropped off,

And so for them, it's the same way, We can give them some supplements or change their diet. Or yes, they could also do some, you know, TRT, testosterone replacement therapy as well. But starting them as soon as you can so that you can track the progress is what you really want to be looking at. So for me, like if I, if I could go back in time, I would have done those, you know, even in my 20s.

Okay.

So like for

my daughter, you she just, she's going to be 17 this year, but we, did a set for her. So now it's like, I know where her peak was. So as she's aging, I mean, I don't have to do it again, unless there's some sort of medical reason to do it, but I want to know her, like where was she at, at her prime? And we did the same for my son. We know where his testosterone was and his estrogen was when he was in his prime, Because as he's aging,

then he has a reference point because at some point it's going to fall off, And then he can be like, well, you know, I felt my best, you know, when I was, you know, 600 for testosterone instead of 200 or wherever, you know, wherever they end up at, Same way for her, At least she'll know where her peak level of estrogen was, And how her thyroid was functioning and how all of her level, all of her other levels were also functioning.

and enjoy my

So at some point, if she ever decides to have a family, whatever, and she starts experiencing more hormonal changes, you always have a reference point of her peak time, And it's not to say you have to go back to your peak time. It's just as a reference point, To know, these were levels and they take to here. And I'm using that as an example because even for myself, when I was about 39,

mhm.

it. This is it.

was when I started noticing like I just things weren't working the same way, Like I was having a hard time seeing more definition. It seemed like I was just kept getting softer and softer, even though my food was really good. My fitness was on point. Ran my blood work and found out my testosterone had dropped to 14. And like just the year before I was at 100, So that's a big drop, And it explains.

⁓

why I was feeling the way I was feeling, But had I not run my blood, I would just be going by my feelings, which feelings are important, but it's also a good place, having solid labs is a good thing to have just so you can back yourself up when you are talking to a practitioner,

that's fascinating though because too, I think a lot of times you're talking about feelings that can have a huge effect on your mentality and your success because you're thinking, well, I'm just, mean, what's wrong with me? Why am I not able to make this happen? And maybe it's just a lost cause. Maybe this is just how I am and I just am never gonna make any progress. You just totally give up. I mean, I've never had any of this blood work and I'm 53 years old.

So this is like all news to me. I'm thinking I'm going to get this done, but I don't have a baseline. I've never had a baseline.

But

you do know, like everyone knows, well, maybe you don't know, but at some point, your optimum number, I guarantee you, for testosterone was somewhere probably between 40 and 100-ish for females, And there are some females who naturally run even higher, But those tend to be women who were very athletic, Like even at a young age, like my daughter's testosterone level is really high.

Okay,

considering that she's only

But that's also because she's super athletic. Her diet is also geared towards her being in athletics, Whereas like somebody who maybe has a lifestyle where they are not as active, They don't naturally produce as much testosterone anyway, So their level would be a little bit lower, but they were probably in their 40s and their 50s in their prime, And even going from a 40 or a 50 down to zero or one or a single digit,

That's a huge drop, Like you feel those effects. And I guess the reason why I'm saying like stressing the feeling thing is that most of the time the complaint I hear, you know, from the people that I'm working with is that, their doctor just says it's normal. This is what happens when I age. Yeah, it is normal, but you don't have to, feel that way, You can change that.

uh-huh.

So for someone who maybe has never been athletic before and they're thinking about, well maybe my testosterone has always just been low and that's why my metabolism is low and that's why I've never been athletic and I've always kind of been overweight all my life, does upping the testosterone fix that or is that not really how that works?

No, not necessarily. So there's several factors that go into play with your metabolic rate. One of them, yes, is your testosterone level because testosterone is your body's ability to help you create and hold on to muscle mass. But it doesn't mean like say naturally you or somebody who only had 30 or 40 units for testosterone.

That's still a good number. It's still in the normal range. But if it was a little bit higher, it does help with the quality of muscle tissue. But the things that affect your metabolic rate has more to do with what we talked about, like the water. They're everything functioning at a higher level. So very basic, yes, water, hydration definitely makes that improve. But the other thing is then,

digging deeper into your diet and making sure that the foods you're eating support the outcome you want. So if you're somebody who's like, I just want to lose, you know, 10, 15 pounds. I have to have a ton of definition. I just want to look better in my clothes. Your diet and your fitness routine would be different from somebody who says, Hey, I want to walk around and look like

I have arms like Madonna or whoever. Your plan would be different because you're eating for a specific goal. But the metabolic rate itself, to make it as optimal as possible, it's the consistency of feeding it all the time. Now it doesn't mean food timing. That just means the amount of food you're eating on a daily basis is staying relatively the same and consistent. So you're not having a day where you binge.

and then have a day where you just won't eat because you binged on this day. Instead, it's like every day you're trying to consume the same amount of food every day so that your metabolic rate becomes dependent on it and it picks up. ⁓ it's kind of like you, so the example of like the binging and then not eating. So you overate, overeating, your metabolic rate will automatically pick up because it's like, my gosh, I have so much, I have to figure out how to process it and how to move it along.

Then the next day you're like, my gosh, I overate so I'm not going to eat today. Now you just slowed it down. ⁓ because there's nothing coming in, right? To keep it going. So now you kind of lost the little momentum you had. Now that doesn't mean you binge every day. It just means like, you want it to be consistent. So if I'm consistently eating the same thing every day, not the same foods, the same amount, same calories every day.

No. ⁓

I'm already more efficient because my body's become dependent on it. It's going to use it in the way that it's meant to use. So proteins are going to go towards my muscle development and you know, my bones and the carbs are going to help with my energy. It's going to put the insulin and glycogen into my muscle belly and help it grow and stay healthy and provide energy. And then my fats is for my brain health and lubrication for my joints and my ligaments. So everything's going to go where it's supposed to go if you keep it consistent. But inconsistency.

high days, low days, it's like your metabolic rate can't ever function as high as it should or as optimally as it should because it can't rely on you. the most important thing, more than even testosterone, estrogen, all those things, is that you're consistent with what you're doing. And it can be small, it does not have to be big, it just needs to be consistency over time is going to improve that metabolic rate.

Consistency with anything is the answer. And that's the hardest thing to do is that consistency all the time. Yes. Yes. So I mean, how does somebody even establish a routine? They're thinking like, OK, I've got to get this much protein in. I've got to get these two fruits, these three to four veggies. OK, I've got to drink all this water. This sounds like a lot of work. It sounds very restrictive. How do people even have this as a lifestyle if somebody's thinking that because they're starting out and they aren't?

Z yet they're still back at A. I know you should start with the water, but if it sounds boring to somebody or it sounds overwhelming, what is the one thing that you could say to somebody to get them in a different mindset so that they could believe that they could actually be this person at some point?

Yeah, Sue, I always try to help them think of the bigger picture. Like, what was the reason you thought about doing it anyway? Was it because you want to be there for your kids or your grandkids? Or is it, you know, you have a gold pair of jeans or it's a cruise you're going on or it's a class reunion? don't know, whatever it is, right? What was the thing that made you think about it in the first place? And then knowing that, yes, you need to give yourself time to get there.

Because most people, everybody wants a quick fix. And almost any program you look at, like on social media or the internet, says, you can get there in 8 to 12 weeks. You're not going to get there in 8 to 12 weeks. I mean, it'd be rare. Because what I try to tell people is like the first four weeks, you're really just learning. You've got to learn how to go to the grocery store, how to read a label.

How are you gonna feed yourself and your kids if you have kids or a husband or a spouse or significant other, whatever. Like you've gotta figure out how it's going to fit first into your routine and make it consistent. And then once you get four weeks under your belt, then the next four weeks you're working on fine tuning it. Could be like, okay, I got it. I feel good. I do feel the differences. I'm sleeping better. My mood is better. I can feel a little bit of change in my stomach or my arms or wherever.

Then you're stacking, which is what you kind of mentioned earlier. You got to just keep building on top of it. And so then in that second phase, the next four week block, now you're learning like, okay, how am going to make a meal that everyone's going to eat? Because the first four weeks, you're making everything separate probably, because that's what most people do. Or you're not eating foods that are combined, meaning like you're no longer making lasagna or spaghetti or like

chicken stir-fry and you're not making enchiladas because you don't know how to combine all those ingredients together to make it fit for your plan. in next four weeks, you're trying to figure out like, I want to make my family's favorite dishes again. So now you're learning how to make it fit into your actual lifestyle. Then the next four weeks, that's where you're like, oh, this is cool. I'm leaner. Like, I get stuff.

And now you're motivated and now you're wanting to know what else you can do. Like, how to get there even faster. And then I'm going to tell you, well, you're not going to get there any faster, but there are things we can do to compliment it.

And

creative with it too is like you can actually just kind of get artistic and creative and take the stuff and you can start doing all this different stuff with it, you know, and there's, mean, you can really, it can be fun when you start to see some progress and when you're on some kind of a routine and that's where you just continue to fine tune and fine tune it. It's hard, it's hard in the beginning, I think, when you are changing your lifestyle, you know, totally.

And it feels overwhelming. Like, I mean, it does because you're just like, my gosh, I don't, I don't know what any of this is or what this means, or I don't really understand my portions. You know, there's a lot of things that you kind of have to get over. then, but then you're going to get saturated because you're still on Tik Tok and you're still on Instagram and you're still on Facebook or wherever. And you're going to see an ad or somebody's going to make a comment that says, you know, mangoes is no mango is no better for you than a Snickers bar.

And then you're gonna be like, well then maybe I should be eating Snickers.

That

stuff comes up and you're like, oh yeah, sugar is sugar. Is sugar sugar?

Yeah, sugar is sugar, But the difference is, and the real reason why I'm using that as examples, literally someone yesterday said they saw this on their feed somewhere. The Snickers bar was better than this mango was. So even if you ate an entire mango, the whole thing, that's 50 carbs, it's 200 calories. One Snickers bar, 210 calories. Calorie-wise, yeah, they're pretty much the same. But the Snickers bar has 11 grams of fat.

28 carbs and roughly 18 grams of additional sugar in it. sugar meaning like table sugar, like not sugar in a natural form. The mango is a sugar in a natural form, it's fructose. So it also has five grams of fiber. So is one better than the other?

Not necessarily.

You'd that the mango would be more nutritious and not processed.

Right, the mango is better because it's not processed. The mango also is full, it's 200 % of your vitamin C for the day. So you are getting benefits from eating this mango, obviously. It's a natural food, it's in its natural state. The Snickers bar is not. But does it make the Snickers bar bad? No. Is it okay to have a Snickers bar occasionally? Yes. But if I'm eating, if I'm trying to compare just these two things,

The reason why I may not be able to make the Snickers bar fit into my day is because I also need to make sure I have 11 grams of fat that I can use towards this candy bar. Whereas the mango is just purely carb. There's no, there's nothing else in it other than a carb. That's all it is. But the Snickers bar does have some fat and the person who made this post was also saying the Snickers bar was better because there's some protein in it. And yes, there is protein in a Snickers bar because of the peanuts. There's like

six, eight grams of protein in Snickers bar. But am I feeling more satisfied with the Snickers bar or do I feel more satisfied with the mango? That's the next question you have to ask yourself too because it's like, well, there's way more volume to this mango than there is to the Snickers bar. Quick fix, yes, I'm probably gonna feel really good eating that Snickers bar because it's chocolate and I like chocolate. volume wise,

it's probably a smarter decision that I eat the mango because I'm going to feel fuller longer because it also has five grams of fiber. And I'm also getting that boost from the vitamin C that's in it also. But it doesn't necessarily mean one is better or worse than the other. There are definitely different benefits to both. ⁓

You change too naturally over time because there might have been a time where I would think that the Snickers bar was more satisfying. Snickers satisfies, wasn't it? And then, but then where I would like choose that over the mango, but now I wouldn't at all because of how I would feel after and not because it would be guilt, but because like of my digestive system and how I just.

It wouldn't feel good to me. just wouldn't feel like I can't imagine really wanting to eat a Snickers bar. You don't want to so much anymore, you know, to have that stuff as much. It doesn't taste as good to me as it did at one time. And also, I don't know if it's because of my age or, you know, I've been learning a little bit about, you know, the gut microbiome and that kind of thing. And I'm interested in getting that.

Exactly.

I'm

Pested as well and so now I've you know, I'm turned on all these things but There comes a point where you start to change yourself over time and it's not like it's a painful thing and it's not like you're giving stuff up You just simply are not interested

Correct. And that happens to almost everybody that I work with at some point. Where in the beginning, it was really tough to give up maybe that piece of sea salt, you know, chocolate or whatever it was, or your morning espresso with, you know, sugar and stuff. Your tastes change, but you're 100 % you start to recognize what makes you feel your best.

We didn't get it.

And it doesn't mean that on occasion you can't have a cookie or a baked good or Snickers or whatever it is you want. It just means that you're making the choice of, don't really need it because I feel better if I eat this mango. It's right. It is a matter of like trying to figure out what works best for you and in which situation.

Yeah, exactly.

Situationally, it also changes. A lot of things that my clients have to deal with is your friends being bullies because you're on a plan and they're not on a plan and they're like, you're not eating, you're not drinking, how come? And then you feel guilty. Then you're like, gosh, I better eat these nachos because she's mad at me for not eating the nachos. And it's like, no, you're an adult, make your own decision. Right. you want to eat those nachos or not. But even if you did eat the nachos, it's not the end of the world because you're just going to get right back on track.

The key is to not let it derail you. It's like, okay, so what? I have the nachos. Now I'm gonna go eat what I actually prepared and brought to eat or have made, you know? It's just getting back. Just go right back on track. It's not you start all over the next day or wait until Monday to start again. Get back on track.

mental shift of like, okay, but that's in the past, like I'm still moving forward, like every moment and every day is a new opportunity to make a different choice. You can always make a different choice in the next hour or two hours. I mean, just because it's not like, my God, it's all just it's all just doomed. Like I've just screwed up my entire

life, my nutrition plan and I just, it's just, just forget it. I can't do it. I think that happens in all or nothing kind of thing. And I think once you start to get a little bit of consistency, you realize, no, I can start back in any moment, time, continue to just, yes. When people are thinking about nutrition, like, okay, I think I can do this. I can eat a little bit better, but I literally hate to exercise.

Do I really have to exercise or can I just like eat my way to being thinner? How important is exercise?

So yeah, exercise plays a role, but I do not give out any recommendations regarding fitness until they have nailed at least four weeks of nutrition. Because nutrition is the hardest thing to make a habit. Going to the gym every day or going on your walk every day or putting in, I don't know if anybody uses DVDs anymore, but whatever, streaming your favorite workout, whatever it is. you, to most people,

It's way easier than eating the way they should be eating. So you cannot outwork out your diet. You have to have a good handle on your nutrition. If your goal is to lose fat, then the exercise is that fat burner pill you're looking for. it, that is the supplement you need to get you to the next

level. You can 100 % lose fat and not really work out. I will say, mean, at a bare minimum, I want you to get 7,500 to 10,000 steps a day. And that can just be general movement, walking around your house or going in and out of the grocery store or wherever. But at least have those incidental steps in with your nutrition. But as far as you doing some specific class or program, no.

Lose?

You do not have to do it. Now, are there benefits? Of course, yes. Your cardiovascular system, your muscle tissue, right? Joints, bone density, all of those things are going to be greatly improved once you start adding in, you know, strength training or fitness, some sort of fitness program. But if you don't have your nutrition down, then...

So we're starting when the.

You can

go to how many times have you gone to a fitness class and everybody looks the same? Like they look the same as they did one year ago. All the time. It's not that they're not having fun and there's a great advantage to being in that social situation and being around other like-minded people. But if you're really looking for change, you probably need clean up what you put in your mouth first. And you can work on whatever fitness.

you like and enjoy and then we find out the right mix of what that is to go with your nutrition.

Yeah, it's funny that reminded me because last year I was at ⁓ Kettlebell class. The instructor was like, it's my birthday. We're all going to Mexican after.

and you can break.

But, I mean, you know. It's funny.

And you know, always tell people like my clients get tired of some of my little sayings I have, but I'm like, you're not a dog. Stop rewarding yourself. Do not reward yourself with food. Reward yourself with something else. Like if you need a reward, fine, but maybe it's a new pair of workout shorts or it's a new water bottle or it's a something else, a new book or whatever. Subscription to Netflix, I don't care, but not, you're not going to reward yourself with food.

And actually just thinking about it that way, I think sometimes you don't realize you're rewarding yourself with food. Like I reward myself with wine when I've worked all day. And then I'm like, ⁓ I should have some wine. And then it's like, it becomes a habit where that signals the end of my day. So then you've got to unlearn that behavior. And I haven't unlearned it by the way, just so we all are clear on that. Have not unlearned that. But I do like maybe switching to.

I can't online shop every night, so I don't know. figure out what it's going to be.

You can

figure out what it is, but you don't need to reward yourself with that. I mean, we're conditioned for it though. I mean, we celebrate everything with food. It's your birthday. Let's go out and have cake and let's have Mexican and a margarita. It's your anniversary. We're going out for dinner. It's everything, a funeral. I mean, everything we do revolves around food, typically.

Yeah.

And it's like, you really need to figure out how can you, either one, you're have to learn how to manage that because we're not gonna, I mean, people are gonna still have birthdays. still gonna have these things. You gotta figure out how to manage it. Or you set up some new rules where it's like, oh yeah, it's my birthday, but hey, I don't really need to go out and have margaritas with you. Let's go and do a quick walk around the park and let's just get caught up. Cause I haven't seen you in a while or whatever, right? Or let's go bowling or let's, know.

I don't know, kayak, whatever it is. Let's do an activity together. Or maybe we just sit and put a puzzle together. Whatever. doesn't have to be anything. Something other than it being about, always about food. And I'm not saying you can't have those moments. You totally can. But you just have to probably pick and choose, you know, especially around the holiday time, because there's a holiday party every time you turn around. And so you're trying to... ⁓

alcohol.

Yeah, lots of alcohol. And alcohol, there's not anything wrong with alcohol, but let's just talk about it briefly. One ounce of alcohol slows your metabolism down about four to six hours. So if you drink five ounces, just a normal pour of wine, that's 20 to 30 hours that it is delayed.

Let's talk about it briefly.

For five ounces?

Right. So, you know if you ever drink at night and then you get on the scale the next morning, typically it's a little bit lower after a day you've had alcohol, depending if you had the Mexican food with it or not. But if you just had a normal meal and you had alcohol in the evening, 90 % of the time you get on the scale and you weigh less in the morning. One is because you're dehydrated because of the alcohol. The next day you're going to get on it and the scale is going to go up a good two or three pounds.

But that's because of the delay. Right. You got to give yourself another day because you've got to get past that 20, 30 hour window and then your body's going to level back off to its normal weight. So a lot of times when people are dieting or trying to lose weight, you're obsessed with the scale. If you are someone who consumes alcohol, then you, well, and anyone in general, really, but you really just need to be paying. You can look at the scale every day, write it down.

Right?

Forget about it, right? At the end of the week, what was the average weight? Because every time you get on the scale, you're gonna have a high number, a low number, and a medium number, just depending on whether or not you slept or you had a bowel movement or how much food you ate later at night or if you got any movement in or whatever. If you're looking at it on a weekly basis, average, it's easier to track whether or not you're actually losing because you and I both know I'm gonna get on the scale and if I'm up three pounds, I'm gonna be like, crap, I'm so fat today, I guess I just won't eat as much food.

Yeah, no, it's just my high day. It's just I don't know what happened and why it's of three pounds. It doesn't really matter. Yeah, exactly. It's what it's not real fat. Did you really overeat 10,500 calories to gain three pounds? No, you didn't. You didn't. It's just there's so many other things that play a role into that scale. And that's why I brought up about the alcohol because the alcohol because it's slowing it down.

me this water.

there's gonna be a delayed response on your scale. So it doesn't mean you have to cut out alcohol. It just means that if you're gonna drink alcohol, know that there's gonna be the delay, but also make sure you're counting it properly. So I cannot tell you how many times someone has told me, there's no carbs in vodka or tequila. It's zero carb. Because if you Google it, it does say zero carbs.

But if you actually Google it or look on a label, it'll say 96 calories per ounce of alcohol. How can there be calories in it and then no carbs? Where are these coming from? It's not a fat, and not a protein. It is a carb, right? But currently regulations do not require sugar alcohols to be reported on a label.

protein.

I was gonna say it's gotta be sugar.

Well, it's a sugar alcohol and so they don't, it's not required to be on a nutrition label. Only carbs have to be reported on the label. So because it's a sugar alcohol and sugar alcohol, by the way, is a carb, but because they're like, it doesn't have to be reported. Most people assume they can drink tequila, rum, all liquor basically is a zero, but it is not. You have to take the total calories.

divide it by four, that is how many carbs are in it.

So, one shot of tequila or vodka, whatever, that's 24 carbs per shot.

Oof! And you can what? Have probably for macros what? Around maybe 120 carbs a day or 30?

I mean, you could probably have more, but let's just say you're somebody that's at 150. At 150, and let's say you do three drinks, right? Okay, you've used 68 or 72 carbs. You've used half your carbs for the day in the three drinks that you just had. So that means the rest of the day, you need to be adjusting what you're eating so that you stay within your total carb allotment for the day.

But you can do it, right? You can obviously do it. You just have to count it.

Correct, you

can't do it, you just have to count it. So, your five ounces of wine. If you were to look...

That was all I was having at night. Okay, yeah.

Right,

but your five ounces of wine, if you were to look at the label on your wine bottle, my guess is that it says like it's somewhere around 120 calories for five ounces. And on your label, it probably says seven carbs. Okay. That's wrong. Cause we know that four calories, cause there's four calories per gram and a carb. Okay. So if I took seven times four, then the total calories for your wine should actually be.

What, 28? Yeah, 28.

Okay.

So the reason why you see seven on a bottle of wine is because yes, there's some sediment from the fruits or whatever they're making the wine from. So they have to count those actual carbs, but they're still not reporting the sugar alcohol carbs. So one glass of wines, if you take 120 and then you divide that by four, that's 30 carbs per five ounces.

Where it gets real ugly, yeah, where it gets real ugly is if you were to have like a mixed drink, like a Moscow mule or a margarita or a hard cider or an IPA. Whatever the total calorie is, divide it by four, that's how many carbs you're actually taking in.

that is that's a real eye that's an eye opener that's an and it's good information too because it can make you stop and maybe consider whether or not I mean at least you have the information

information

you could totally have it that's fine. You know you used carbs that you probably weren't thinking were carbs because you've been told this whole time that it's no carb. Yes. But there but it does count towards your carb value.

Yeah.

Yeah. For someone who is interested in losing weight and they are hearing all of this about macros and they're like, what the hell is a macro and what, how do I even know what I need? How could somebody find out what they need in their daily in order to lose weight?

So, I mean, you can Google macro calculators. They're gonna give you basic. Whenever you Google a calculator online, it's literally gonna ask for like your height, your weight, your age, and then what your activity level is. And then what is your goal? And it's gonna say, do you wanna put on muscle or do you wanna lose fat or you just wanna lose weight? It's gonna ask you those types of things. You're gonna input that information and it's gonna kick out to you a set of macros. Great place to just start.

What it didn't ask you is, you know, all the other things. How stressful is your life? What kind of medical conditions do you have? Are you taking any supplements? Do you take any medications? Do you sleep well? Are you still having a cycle or not having a cycle? If you're, you know, ⁓ a male, do you have trouble with, you know, ED? Do you have trouble with, you know, blood pressure, cholesterol? It's not asking you any of the things that also affect

how you're going to lose weight. It's just gonna give you the basic, which is a great place to start. But then if you're like, okay, I did that for a couple of months and I did lose weight and I actually feel really good. Probably if you wanna get down to another level, you're gonna have to work with somebody who's gonna take your entire history into account to build you something specifically for you. Those calculators are just general public. It doesn't matter. ⁓

Right? And it does matter. Like when you're trying to get to the next spot, like all those things do matter.

blood work panel comes in rainy.

You'll fill out like an entire questionnaire that you know I'll ask like what supplements you take, what activities, what's your hobbies, you know all those things because that information is going to tell me a little bit more also about your personality and also it's gonna give me insight into probably what some of your preconceived ideas are about food and fitness because we all have them. We all grew up

you know, with the mom doing jazzercise and Richard Sivitz, you ⁓ know, whatever. So we all have issues. you know, so it was, it's good to know what generation you are and what your food history is and like where it started so that you'll be relatable to know how to get you to be accountable. Yeah.

first.

Yeah, I love that. That has been, whoa, that's been a world of info right there and I love it. And I want to end with a segment that I do at the end of every podcast episode. It's called Cut It or Keep It. And it's a take on, as a hairstylist, I'm a hairstylist behind the chair, we sometimes cut the hair off, sometimes we keep it, depending. Is it worth keeping or should we just take it and cut it off? I want to ask Holly what she thinks.

about these concepts here. Cut it or keep it, intermittent fasting.

it if you are a female over the age of 35.

⁓ Okay.

The

why is because as you're aging, you already have disruptions every day to how your body is functioning in terms of your hormone regulation. Making yourself fast before you eat is just slowing those processes down. Intermittent fasting works in the concept of, yeah, you're in a time restricted window and you're only going to eat all your food here.

That same concept applies though, if you just spread it out amongst the day, there is no magic in the fact that you just ate it here. I can eat the same amount of food and just spread it out too. And this allows me to feel more satisfied and I have less dips in my energy level throughout the day by spreading it out versus trying to only eat it here. Really the only time I probably ever use some form of fasting is one for people with religious beliefs. do some

I have some clients that we purposely fast for certain things. But then the other reason why I might have somebody do some sort of form of intermittent fasting is if it was an athlete that I was working with and we were working on cutting weight.

Well, also I would think that you wouldn't be so stressed out trying to keep your stuff all in like this tiny little window, you know, maybe this press is adding to this issue too. Well, I mean the information's out there and like intermittent fasting, you even have experts on and they're like, yes, you should do it because of this, this and this. And then other people are like, no. And so it's like, this is one of those things where we never know what the truth is.

Yeah, and I, you know, it's also individual. If it works for you, great. But is there any real science behind it? No. And I would say overwhelmingly, I would not do it. No. Perfect.

personalized nutrition or nutrigenomics.

Personalized nutrition, yeah, yes, for sure, keep it. Yeah. Okay, perfect.

We have not talked about this much, but I know that GLP-1s are something right now that is so many people are using them in order to lose weight. You do have some people who are not obese who are looking to lose 10, 15, 20 pounds maybe, and they are seeking ⁓ micro doses through maybe like a compound pharmacy, something like that. What's your thought on micro dosing GLP-1s?

keep it. And the reason why is because ⁓ in certain client relationships, people deal with food noise. And that is their biggest obstacle in their way to get them to reach their goals. And there is significant amount of studies done where the microdosing is shutting down that noise, which allows them then to make the right choices. So they're not obsessing and thinking about food.

all the time. It's literally just shut the little voice down. that in that application, I definitely would keep it. As far as other reasons why I would keep it, it would be if somebody came to me and their blood work, their A1c was elevated. So like a five, five, six and greater, it would work really well for them because it would help with some of their insulin resistance. So under six,

you're not pre, you know, you're not into the pre-diabetic range. You're just at the top end of that. It does help with that tremendously. And so it does help with how your body's utilizing the insulin. So I say keep. Yep.

Keep it. And we talked about this a little bit, but plant only based diets.

If it works for you and you like it, keep it. Yep.

Perfect.

Next is creatine. I don't know, we haven't talked about this, but sometimes people take creatine, I guess, to help with muscle formation or to build a little bit faster. Is this something that everyone needs, women need?

need. Everybody should be taking five grams a day. Yep. ⁓

Okay,

good to know. When do you take that?

doesn't really matter. I try to just be as consistent with it as possible, right? So like for me, it's in my first glass of water every morning. So I don't forget, right? So I get asked to be the first class. So I do five grams, just mix it with water, drink it, done with it. ⁓

Where

do you find that? Just over the counter?

You just

go to Amazon, type in creatine. As long as it's creatine monohydrate, which majority of them is going to be that way. as long you're doing that, you're good. And they price range anywhere from like $20 to $60. There's really not a lot of difference between the $20 and the $60.

That's good to know. So one is not more quality than the other. Okay, perfect. And then the last one, I know we talked about digestive issues. ⁓ You fiber was something that, you you're saying a lot of people don't get enough of. How much fiber do we need a day?

Female is probably 20 to 30 depending on how many calories they're consuming in a day. 20 is definitely the low end. It's very individual because your gut can be sensitive if you get too much. for myself, my sweet spot is between 30 and 35. So my goal every day is to be somewhere in that range. But for somebody else, it could be a little bit less or it could be more. I mean, I have some people who do 40 and 50 a day, which is great.

Fiber is the key to digestion, staying as normal and consistent as possible. And it's what's helping with your gut biome. Like it's helped cleaning everything out. And so you do want to try to keep that as consistent as you possibly can, but yeah.

So the reason I ask about that is because my last cut it or keep it is taking probiotics.

This one's a hard to say cut or keep because again, I think it's individual.

I didn't know if that had to do with the amount of fiber. If you're not getting enough, could you just take like probiotic and it would kind of help?

Not necessarily

because a probiotic doesn't necessarily mean you're getting fiber in the probiotic. There are probiotics out there that you can take that have fiber added to it, but probiotics, you make them anyway. Your gut biome is making its own bacteria. And I think the only time you should use a probiotic is if you're taking an antibiotic or you had...

⁓ a medical procedure like you were under anesthesia, something like that. ⁓ Anything that's a big disruptor to your gut biome, then yes, you would take it until you were back on track. Then you come off of it. It's really rare that someone should be on it all the time. I would take it as needed, like as a supplement, not something that's in your daily routine.

Okay.

All right, well that is the last one and that is all such great information. I've learned so much myself and I think that the information you've given us allows us to start somewhere, no matter where we are, whether we've been at it for a while or we just were curious, hey, could I be healthy? Could I lose some weight? Could I maintain this routine and this lifestyle over time? And starting with the water and just saying, look, start by getting enough water. That's a small thing you can start.

with and then like you said just add on and build on those habits over time because you do get to be that person over time. And so I just love all the information that you gave us there. Can you tell us where people can find you, where we could contact you if they wanted to reach out or look into any of the offerings that you may have?

Yeah, it's hollylainharris.com. There's a contact me page there. You can just send me a message through there and then I can answer any questions you have, send you out anything you want. ⁓

Okay, perfect. that's your question.

All

right, sounds good. Well, we will put that info in the show notes. You can contact Holly there through her website, reach out through the contact page. Holly, thank you so much. This has been so good. I appreciate it so much.

Alright, thank you.