A client's win with her hunger cues had me examining my own—the plate-cleaning conditioning I still carry, and why restaurant portions were never about you.

5 dozen donuts, a Krispy Kreme filter gone wrong, and the moment I realized I wasn't craving food—I was craving relational intimacy. My honest, unfinished journey with emotional eating, Part 1.

A protein bar in every bag, and a Chick-fil-A hack that actually works. My realistic approach to eating on days that don't slow down for anyone.

A cell biology class, a jiggling arm, and the moment I started running from a place of punishment instead of purpose. Here's what actually changed things.

Running in Tennessee summer heat isn't just hot—it's a system shock. Here's what I actually do differently in July to keep running without wrecking myself.

I've run a marathon, five half-marathons, and countless 5ks. I'm a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach. I've been coaching for over ten years.

I started running as punishment.

"I'm disgusting, so I have to run all these miles." That was my internal monologue at 6am, alone, no headphones, just silence and self-criticism and the sound of my own breathing.

It took a long time for that to change. But it did change. And what I learned along the way is the whole reason I coach the way I do.

I hit the wall at mile ten and a half of my first half marathon. Legs like lead, heart rate through the roof, nausea every time I took a sip of water. I spent the last mile stopping, stretching, shuffling, and wondering why I ever thought this was a good idea.

It wasn't my fitness. It wasn't my training. It was my fueling—a coffee and a pack of instant oatmeal I'd eaten two hours before the gun went off.

What you consume before, during, and after you run determines almost everything about how that run feels. New post is up. <3

You're not starving by 3pm because you're out of control.

You're starving by 3pm because you haven't eaten anything of substance that your body can use to fuel itself. Maybe you had some coffee. By the time lunch rolled around, your brain and body are running on fumes—you're eating reactively, choosing whatever is closest, wondering why you feel so out of control around food by the end of the day. It's not a character problem.

You're not "out of control." Your body is protecting itself to get some fuel.

You can fix this with one small habit.

New post is up. Let's get fueled up.

Have you ever skipped the birthday cake because you were trying to be "good"—and then felt like a failure anyway?

I've been there. And it's exactly why I will never tell a client to cut something out of her diet.

Restriction isn't always wrong. But as a default tool for everyday life? It works against most of us more than it works for us. I'd be willing to bet 1 in 2 women have felt that birthday cake guilt before—and none of us need more of that.

New post is up. It's about a better way to think about food.

Closing out May with this one—a reminder that progress doesn't always look like you expect it to.

A good week isn't the week where everything went perfectly. It's the week you showed up with whatever you had. New post is up.

You've had this run. Same route, same shoes, same time of day—and it felt like absolute garbage for seemingly no reason.

That run isn't telling you that you're going backwards. It's telling you about your day. New post is up explaining exactly what's actually going on when a run feels harder than it should—and what to do about it. Link in comments.

I'm a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach. I also struggle with emotional eating.

Both of those things are true at the same time—and I think that's exactly why I wanted to write this week's post. Because consistency doesn't mean perfect. It never did. It means your good habits are strong enough to hold while you keep working on the harder stuff.

I just ran a marathon and I'm having to figure out how to run easy again. My easy pace is currently leaving me needing a nap—and that's not easy, that's my body telling me something has shifted.

Wrote about it this week because I think a lot of beginner runners are in the same boat without knowing it. If your easy runs don't feel easy, this one's for you.

This one is for the woman who had coffee for breakfast again this morning. Not because she forgot to eat. Because the meeting started early, someone needed something, and suddenly it was noon.

I wrote about why that pattern makes running harder than it needs to be—and what three simple anchors can do to change it. No meal plan. No overhaul. Just structure that actually fits a real life.

New post is up. :)

Feel like you don’t know what you’re doing with running? You’re not alone. This phase is one of the most common struggles for beginner runners—and it’s not a sign you’re doing anything wrong. In this post, you’ll learn why running feels confusing at first, what “doing it right” actually looks like, and how to build consistency without overthinking every run. If you’re tired of guessing and ready for a simple, structured approach to running, this will help you move forward with confidence.

Most people think becoming a runner looks like this:
start running → get better → then feel like a runner

But it actually works the opposite way.

You start running… and for a while, you feel like an imposter.
Like you’re doing it, but it doesn’t “count” yet.

That doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong.
It means you’re in the middle of the process.

You don’t become a runner when you hit a certain pace or distance.
You become a runner when you keep showing up long enough that it becomes part of who you are.

If you’ve been stuck in that “this doesn’t feel like me yet” phase—stay with it.
And don’t do it alone.

Follow along or join us online if you need a space where showing up imperfectly is the norm.

Springtime is notoriously volatile in East TN. With temperatures ranging from 30-75 degrees within the same week, runners here have to stay on their toes and be prepared for anything. Let’s learn how to adapt our training with the ever-changing weather.

Find out what habits may be sabotaging your week of solid progress and how to combat the “all-or-nothing” weekend mindset. It might not be as hard as you think.

If your doctor has told you that your A1C is higher than they’d like—start here. It can be very confusing to know what is going on in your body and where to start, but let’s simplify it together.