Hey friend,

Today is a VERY special day at the Portwood House...

It's Joani AND Lochlyn's birthday 🎉

They actually share a birthday (how cool is that?).

I still can't believe it's been 10 years since we got married and 9 years since Lochlyn was born.  

WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?!

Anyway 😀 here’s this week’s newsletter 👇🏻

5 Ingredient Chicken Tortilla Soup

w/ 29g Of Protein Per Cup 🍲

Soup season is officially here, and this one has been on repeat at our house.

Some tortilla soup is a carb bomb with a little chicken floating in it. This version flips that — 192 calories a cup with 29 grams of protein, which puts it at over 60% protein.

Recipe Makes 10 one-cup servings
192 calories | 29g protein (63%) | 15g net carbs (33%) — soup only, see toppings below

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken bone broth — this matters, don’t substitute regular broth
• 2 lbs chicken breast
• 1 can Bush’s Taco Fiesta Black Beans
• 2 jars (16 oz) corn salsa — we used Better Goods Roasted Sweet Corn Salsa
• 1 packet taco seasoning

Instructions

1. Add everything to the crockpot and stir it up well.

2. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours — just make sure the chicken is done and falls apart easily.

That’s it. Shred the chicken into the soup and enjoy.

Topping Options

🌮 Homemade zero carb tortilla strips (recipe below)
🧀 Up to ¼ cup fat free shredded cheddar
🌿 Fresh cilantro

Zero Carb Tortilla Strips

You can easily make your own at home. I recommend a zero carb tortilla like the La Banderita Carb Counter Street Taco Tortillas — 20 calories each, available at Walmart and most stores. One tortilla’s worth of strips is more than enough for a one-cup serving.

Ingredients

• 1 small zero carb tortilla (or the lowest calorie, lowest carb you can find)
• Tajín Clásico Chile Lime Seasoning to taste

Instructions

Preheat your oven or air fryer to 350°F. Cut the tortilla into small strips and lay them on a baking sheet or in the air fryer basket. Spray lightly with cooking spray and season with Tajín.

Bake 10-15 minutes, or air fry 4-6 minutes, until they hit your desired crispiness.

How To Survive The Holidays

& Finish 2026 Strong

As of today, there are about 55 days left in 2026.

Halloween is behind us, and now we’ve got the holiday gauntlet to run. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, parties, office treats, and plenty of temptation in between.

Here’s how to get through it:

1. Set a reasonable goal to hit before the end of the year.

Go into the rest of the year with a wishy-washy goal and you’ll get caught up in the endless justification that comes with holiday temptation.

Set a clear, reasonable goal and actually focus on it, and it’ll keep you on track when it matters most. Because justifying indulgences happens most when we don’t have a compelling reason not to.

So give yourself one you actually care about.

2. Map out the days you plan to let loose.

Those 55 days work out to 165 meals and 110 snacks — 275 separate opportunities to make a healthy choice.

Now figure a couple of fun days for Thanksgiving, a couple for Christmas, and maybe one for New Year’s. That’s really only 5-7 days between now and January where you might genuinely want to let loose.

Put those days on your calendar. The clarity of knowing exactly when you have permission to indulge — and when you’ve agreed with yourself to be on plan — makes this SO much easier.

3. Actually give yourself permission on those days.

On your fun days, let loose and don’t worry about your food decisions. It gives you something to look forward to and lets you indulge without ANY guilt.

Then commit just as hard to staying on track the other days. The locked-in days are what earn you the fun ones.

Again — a clear plan beats winging it and ending up frustrated with yourself.

4. Offer to host if you can.

Joani and I love hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings, because WE get to control the menu.

So naturally we make a lot of food that tastes AMAZING but is way higher protein and way healthier than if someone else made it.

Quite the holiday hack. Highly recommend.

5. If you can’t host, be the “best guest ever.”

Be the one who always brings a SUPER tasty dish that also happens to be high protein and lower calorie.

Everyone will love it because it tastes amazing — and they’ll appreciate having something on the table they don’t feel guilty about.

6. Dial in your cold weather back-up plans.

The holidays bring colder, darker, snowier weather for most of us. Have a plan so you can still hit 8k steps a day and 3 strength workouts a week.

I’d recommend a walking pad like mine for indoor steps, plus a set of exercise bands or adjustable dumbbells and an adjustable bench so you can still get a workout in when you’re snowed in.

7. Get yourself some help and accountability.

The best thing you can do for yourself is get real guidance and someone in your corner.

Winter and the holidays are the hardest stretch of the year for self-motivation. Between the temptations and the seasonal slump, it just makes sense to have a coach holding you accountable through it.

Marsha here joined right before the holidays and went on to lose over 100 pounds in 12 months 🤯

If you want to know what that might look like fill out this form and I'll reach out to see if it would be a great fit to work together.