We know the statistics. The majority of our clients come to us with fat loss as their main goal. Before joining Black Iron Nutrition, many have tried every diet under the sun. Keto. Paleo. Intermittent Fasting. Carnivore. Vegan. Vegetarian. They’ve tried other nutrition companies – and have found themselves on dangerously low calories. And while we won’t deny that they saw results initially – they weren’t able to sustain their results in the long-term. Many end up right back where they started.

Overwhelmed by all of the nutrition information out there?

Do you find yourself constantly giving up because you find dieting to be too stressful and complicated?

We understand! There is a seemingly endless amount of advice out there when it comes to nutrition – as well as a lot of conflicting information.

It's tempting to wake up and rush to make your morning cup of coffee. You need the jolt. It's part of your ritual. Water doesn't even cross your mind. Breakfast and two cups of joe later, and suddenly it's 10:30 am...and you realize you've had NO water yet today. It happens to the best of us. And that's what inspired our October Habit of the Month - Drink 20 ounces of water FIRST thing every morning!

As nutrition coaches, we see a lot of different habits that work for different people. As coaches, it’s our job to design a program that helps add to a client’s life and to make sure it enhances their lifestyle, as that is a pretty good indicator of sustainability and success. After coaching hundreds of clients, I have found a few characteristics that successful clients have in common.

We talk all the time about how consistency is king/queen, but if you’re someone who is struggling with consistency you might be missing out on the piece that comes right before it: TRIAL & ERROR

I get it, you just signed up for a coach and you’re ready to GET. TO. WORK.

It’s all too common to see clients believe they can ONLY improve their health and/or sports performance by LOWERING their weight - that a lower body fat percentage and improving sports performance and/or health markers are directly connected. Heck, I used to be one of these people!

3 things will optimize your muscle gain: Resistance training, A calorie surplus, Adequate protein intake.

Each of these things plays off of one another. You can gain muscle in a calorie surplus without resistance training, but you’ll likely put on more fat than you will lean body mass if you don’t lift. If you don’t eat enough protein, you won’t put on as much muscle as you could.

Happy September! For a lot of you – that means your schedule and routine are changing. A LOT. Either you or your kids are going back to school. Some of you may even be starting new jobs. And that means that your food and meal prep routine - which worked for you so well over the summer - may need a serious makeover. Here’s what you can do to help yourself.

When most of us look to change our lifestyle to lose weight we often turn towards a healthy diet and exercise. Up at 4 am for our first workout, lots of fruits and veggies, and maybe an evening weightlifting session. By the end of the week we are exhausted, hungry, and wishing for an extra hour of sleep. Is it worth it to press the snooze button and get that extra hour of sleep? Will that really help you reach your goals? You better believe it….

Food prep is for most people a very daunting task that also feels like it’s the only way to success. Some of that might be true, but it’s not always what you think it is.

Meal prep gets a bad name because of the plain redundancy that it used to be when it was first popular. Food prep has really evolved to the actual meaning of those words: a way to prep your food for your week.

There’s not a “right” way to prep your food, it’s all about what works for you. It might take some trial and error (more on the importance of that here), but finding what works best in your life is going to be key.

It’s beach season! For some people that means bikini’s, white sand, and those fruity drinks with the umbrellas! But what if you have fat loss goals? Can you still drink? How does it impact your body and what are the “best” ways we can fit drinking into our macros?! We’re not here to tell you what to do, we just want you to understand the physiology of what happens when you drink and let you make the best decision for you!

Vegetables are packed with micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) that are responsible for a lot of our bodily functions. They affect our mood, energy levels, how our muscles/organs function, how we sleep, and so much more. Red veggies help with heart health, yellow with skin health, orange with inflammation, green with cleansing your body, blue/purple veggies supply you with antioxidants, and white veggies help your immune system (the same goes for fruit by the way!).

Fats help us make hormones, and they're the most satiating macronutrient - they slow down digestion and keep us full.

Here are some quick, go-to options for carbs when you’re in a bind and don’t have time to cut up your own potatoes or wait 30 minutes for your rice to cook!

Sometimes, folks are so busy that can’t spend a few hours in the kitchen a week to food prep. Or, they aren’t Master Chefs (yet). I went scouring through the frozen foods section of a few grocery stores and found some quick go-to options. My hope is that these options alleviate some stress and help you guys with time management.

Need help eating out?! We’ve got you covered…

Let's talk about stress. We’re all pretty familiar with it. As adults stress becomes a part of our life. We have responsibilities and deadlines to attend to. Although we often think of stress as a bad thing, in small doses, it’s actually quite beneficial. It motivates us to meet those deadlines at work, finish a school project, stick to our diet, or get to the gym first thing in the morning. But sometimes, stress becomes overwhelming. It accumulates and eventually, we can’t take it anymore. This build-up and constant stress is the kind that’s harmful to our health. This is the type of stress we want to talk about.

Problem-solving has many layers. You’re here and I’m here because we have a problem that we’ve yet to solve on our own. We’re here because we need help. There’s nothing wrong with needing help. Everyone needs help with something in their lives at some point. As you start to outline the things you need or the actions you need to take to solve a problem, it may take a bit to get going. But at some point, it starts to build like a classic cartoon snowball rolling down a hill. Here is a sample list of things or actions you’ve likely done as you started your journey with BIN to solve this problem.