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What's in store for today:

• 7 Small Healthy Shifts That Make A Huge Difference
• The Productivity Tool That's Helping Me Get More Done In Less Time
• Susie D's Podcast Interview On Losing 105 Pounds

7 Simple Healthy Shifts That Make A Huge Difference In Your Results

When it comes to losing weight and keeping it off, it's a journey and a process of building a lifestyle over the course of months and years...

But there are a lot of very simple shifts you can make immediately that can make a MASSIVE difference for your results and how hard the journey feels along the way.  

1️⃣ Stop drinking your calories...

Getting into a calorie deficit consistently can be a challenge, and it's even harder when a significant amount of your calories are coming from your beverages, leaving you with little margin left for your food.  

Eliminate as many calories as possible from what you drink first so you can eat more food and feel more satiated.  

Some of my favorite low or no calorie go to's are zero sugar sweet tea, diet pop (Diet Pepsi is my favorite right now), and low calorie mocktails like this one I shared previously.

2️⃣ Make the obvious swaps first...

These days there are a few no brainer swaps you can make that will vastly reduce the amount of carbohydrate and fat calories while keeping protein and fiber high.  

Swap regular bread, buns, and tortillas for low carb or zero carb versions.  Swap regular cheese for fat free cheese.  Swap high calorie condiments for low calorie or sugar free versions.  Swap candy bars for protein bars and regular chips for protein chips.  Swap fatty "proteins" like chicken thighs for chicken breast or 80/20 ground beef for 96% lean ground beef.  

I actually share a bunch of my favorite swaps here in this previous newsletter to get you started, but these will drastically reduce calories while still tasting great. 

3️⃣ Walk for 15 minutes after each meal...

Most people tend to get 2500-3500 steps a day if they aren't really paying attention or trying.  But 8000 steps a day is the ideal goal for optimal health and weight control.  

If you just walked 15 minutes after breakfast, 15 minutes after lunch, and 15 minutes after dinner, that immediately adds about 4500 steps to your day in a way that doesn't disrupt your day.  

It's a simple way to get really close to your 8000 step goal if you are struggling to get there currently.

4️⃣ Start tracking your steps accurately with a wrist tracker...

This sounds obvious, but so many people either don't track their steps accurately with a tracker OR they wear a tracker and never look at the tracking data to know how they are doing with their step activity.  

Hitting 8000 steps a day is SUCH a game changer for allowing you to hit a consistent calorie burn and get into a consistent calorie deficit, but you can't do it if you have no awareness around your daily activity levels.  

Starting to track and pay attention to the data throughout the day each day lets you ensure you hit the goal every day.  That's an easy win.  

5️⃣ Put important health routines into your calendar...

Simply adding your walks, your workout times, and your grocery shopping or meal planning / prep times to your calendar can go a long way to making sure you actually follow through and execute.  

If they don't have a home in your calendar and your schedule, they end up being an afterthought that you consistently put off.  

Spend 20 minutes to find a spot for daily walks, 3 workouts a week, and time to cook and eat healthy meals, and I promise you'll be more consistent than if you never did so.

6️⃣ Ask for help and communicate your needs...

I get that you don't want to burden others with your goals and needs on a weight loss journey, so you just keep it to yourself and try to force it on your own.  

Meanwhile your kids, spouse, co-workers, boss, friends, and extended family constantly and inadvertently do things that make it harder simply because they were never told about your goals and what you need from them to be successful.  

If they don't know you are working on health goals they will do all sorts of things like bring you food you didn't ask for, pressure you to indulge when you don't want to, or simply ask you to commit to things that would take away from your self care time.  

If they knew how much you really cared about your health goals, they would feel horrible about the fact that they are inadvertently making it harder on you, but this is easily fixed if you simply communicate with those close to you.  

Let them know what you are trying to accomplish and how they can help support you along the way.  

7️⃣ Stop starting over on Monday...

If you stray off plan with your food, or miss a step goal for a day, or miss a workout, then commit to immediately following up with a win.

If you missed your step goal yesterday, commit to hitting it today no matter what, even if you have to stay up later than normal to do it.  

If you messed up at 10am sneaking your hand into the cookie or candy bowl...don't binge the whole day, do the next right thing with a healthy lunch or snack.  

Whatever you do, make restarting IMMEDIATE, not a thing you to tomorrow or Monday.  Because there is always a tomorrow and a Monday if you let there be, and there's really no reason you can't get back on track immediately.

Implement these 7 simple shifts and I guarantee you'll feel a difference overall in your journey 💪🏻

The Productivity Tool That Is Helping Me

Do More In Much Less Time

Admittedly, I am a little later than most in learning how to use some of the new AI tools on the market.  But over the last year I've really been working to learn and experiment with Chat GPT and Claude AI to see how I can use them in my every day life and my work.  

The results have been VERY surprising.  

Lately, Claude AI, which I pay $20 per month for, has been acting as my business coach, my web designer, my proof reader, my email editor, and even my mindset coach. 

It's designed entire web pages in minutes, taken my recipes and built them into a beautiful PDF book in minutes, and even helped me get clarity around what to do and where to focus in minutes where I might have wasted weeks trying to figure out the right next move.  

This is a newsletter about being sustainably healthy, and one of the biggest struggles MOST people have is that they feel they don't have enough hours in the day. 

So if a tool like Claude AI or Chat GPT can help you complete tasks that might otherwise take hours, days, or weeks, then imagine how much time you could get back to hit your step goal, workout, cook healthy meals, etc.

Frankly, I am mindblown at the things I have been able to use AI for by giving it my thoughts, my creative input, my ideas, my problems, etc.

It's saved me weeks and months of time already this year, not to mention it has saved me THOUSANDS of dollars.  

It even made the image at the top of this section in seconds...

If you haven't started to play with Claude AI, I can't recommend it enough.  

I have no affiliation with them, I'm just legitimately blown away at how helpful it has become in my day to day life.  Chat GPT is still good, but Claude is my current AI of choice.

Podcast Episode 🎙️

How To Lose 105 Pounds And Keep It Off

With Susie Durcholz

In this episode, I chat with a Healthy & Whole client named Susie who lost 105 pounds after years of failed diets, sugar cravings, low energy, poor sleep, and self-doubt.

She shares how sustainable weight loss finally became possible when she learned how to eat in real life, build simple healthy habits, prioritize sleep, and go from 3,500 steps a day to consistently hitting 8,000–10,000 steps.

Susie's weight loss transformation is a powerful reminder that permanent weight loss does not require extreme restriction, endless willpower, or giving up the foods and moments that matter.

If you need weight loss motivation and a real client success story that proves food freedom, mindset, walking, and support can change your life, this interview is for you.

You can watch / listen here.

Client Win Of The Week:

Tammy Lost 25 Pounds In 2.5 Months

Tammy started with Healthy & Whole just 2.5 months ago and she is already down 25 pounds and within just 5 pounds of her weight loss goal 🤯

What made the difference?

✅ Support from a coach to answer all her questions

✅ Someone cutting through the information overwhelm and laying out exactly what to do to lose weight sustainbly

✅ Learning how to have healthy meals and snacks she actually enjoys

✅ Learning how to adjust for real like such as girls trips, eating out, etc.

✅ Being able to recognize herself when she is drifting and how to self correct

It's amazing how quickly these things can have an impact with the right support.

Way to go Tammy!  You are a rock in our Forever Family! 💛

Ready to start your journey? 

Here's how I can help...

If you're feeling overwhelmed and frustrated with your body and health, I know how you feel.   Apply for coaching here with Healthy & Whole, I'll work with you to find the perfect support level for you in our program that fits your needs and your budget.  We have options starting as low as $47 per month 💪🏻

Disclaimer: This email is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, and those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician.