The Swarm of Bs

https://www.facebook.com/tracy.u.baird/videos/10222936291305673/

I’ve been reading a lot about habit formation lately, and Tiny Habits: Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg, PhD has made a large impact on me. I believe habits related closely to overall health and wellness. For example, I am convinced that weight loss can only be maintained by changes sustained over time rather than a short term effort. In this video I talk about one strategy from Tiny Habits you can use to to identify behaviors you could implement to reach your desired outcome.

“Going through the program together definitely helped us both stay on track”

One benefit of becoming a FASTer Way certified coach is all the amazing people I get to meet – both clients and coaches! I met Mandi because she and I both did the FASTer Way as clients with the same coach, then both became coaches. Fortuitously, our coach is a top performer and has about 20 coaches she mentors, and she has introduced us to one another. I love how supportive our coach group is to one another, sharing ideas and answering questions through social media and sometimes text.

This picture represents about 9 months of Mandi and her husband living the FASTer Way lifestyle. Mandi has generously allowed me to share her story here. I’ll let her tell it in her own words:

“When I found the FASTer Way to Fat Loss, I was not looking for any type of program. I didn’t really ‘do diets’ because they seemed miserable, inconvenient, and too restrictive. I always thought I was too busy with my job and my three kids to do something like this, but when my friend (who has FIVE kids AND homeschools) had amazing results and told me about it, I realized I had no excuse not to give it a try! I had about 8 – 10 pounds of baby weight to lose and I wanted a ‘push’ to feed my family healthier foods. In just six weeks, I lost all of the weight and then some that I had been wanting to lose for the past 2 years! I lost 11 pounds and a total of 13.75 inches!! And best of all, I realized that it wasn’t miserable, inconvenient, or restrictive! My husband did the program also and lost 20 pounds on nutrition alone! (He couldn’t do any workouts because of a prior back injury.) And he was able to have success with this program even though he sells food for a living and is in and out of restaurants all day, everyday! Going through the program together definitely helped us both stay on track and enjoy it even more!”

Among my 90 or so clients, I have had the privilege of coaching five couples. I love when couples participate together and support one another in both nutrition and fitness. I love how Mandi says participating together with her husband helped them both “stay on track” AND “enjoy it even more”! Did you know a nutrition and fitness program can be enjoyable? It can!

Currently spouses can join the FASTer Way New Client experience with a discount for the second spouse. Message me to find out how! You can reach me at [email protected] or through the form on this website.

Thanks so much to Mandi for allowing me to share her picture and story! It encourages me and I know it will encourage others, as well!

Want my FREE 5 day Meal Guide? Grab it here!

READY TO START my next FASTer Way New Client experience? I’d love that – go here!

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Banana Nice Cream

I love sweets – are you with me? This snack fulfills my longing for ice cream and I find it completely satisfying. The fact that it helps me hit my macronutrient targets is a bonus! While it is possible that my palate has changed since I started eating more whole and fewer processed foods, I think this is just as good as regular ice cream. I eat this at least 3 days per week and usually favor the chocolate version. I love the versatility of the recipe and the forgiving nature of blending. I rarely measure anymore and simply use the nuts, milk, and add-ins that I have on hand. The only mandatory ingredient is frozen ripe bananas, so start buying extras now so you will always have them available in the freezer.

Thank you to my friend Deborah for the original recipe, which I have modified here.

BANANA NICE CREAM

Serves 2 – share with your favorite friend or cut the recipe in half as it does not keep well! (I must admit I sometimes eat the whole thing myself.)

Instructions – combine ingredients in a high powered full size or portable blender until fully blended, then enjoy!

Ingredients

2 bananas, frozen in pieces

(I like to cut/break very ripe bananas into pieces and store them in a freezer bag in my freezer)

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (can sub preferred milk type)

1/4 cup (28g) pecans (I recommend raw/unsalted, can sub walnuts)

Optional add ins

1/2 teaspoon 100% pure vanilla extract

1/2-1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tablespoon peanut butter powder such as Naked PB (affiliate link)

(Cheaper powdered peanut butter exists if you don’t mind added sugar, salt, etc.)

Check out the yumminess!

Here’s what the finished product looks like after I’ve blended the chocolate version ingredients in my Ninja Bullet:

Happy eating! Try it and let me know what you think! Do you have a similar blender recipe or variation? Share it with us in the comments!

Want my FREE 5 day Meal Guide? Grab it here!

READY TO START my next FASTer Way New Client experience? I’d love that – go here!

Not ready yet? No problem – join my WAITLIST to stay up-to-date!

The SuperFridge

One book that I unreservedly recommend is BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything (affiliate link). I’ve been semi-obsessed with habit formation lately, because I truly believe that by implementing good, healthy habits and by untangling bad habits I can live my most awesome life.

The SuperFridge is BJ Fogg’s top tip for losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight. Check out my video for the details.

In a nutshell, to create a SuperFridge:

Buy healthy food (don’t let any food you don’t want to eat into your refrigerator)

Set aside scheduled time to prep the food so it’s easy to eat

Eat up all that healthy food before it loses it’s freshness

I love this simple concept, and I aspire to always keep my own SuperFridge well stocked!

https://www.facebook.com/tracybairdwellness/videos/2610673169044311/

Want my FREE 5 day Meal Guide? Grab it here!

READY TO START my next FASTer Way New Client experience? I’d love that – go here!

Not ready yet? No problem – join my WAITLIST to stay up-to-date!

What are we eating at Zoe’s Kitchen?

I really like Zoe’s Kitchen for healthy take out! The FASTer Way has taught me to embrace whole food nutrition, and there are many options for doing that at Zoe’s! In addition, during the New Client experience we eliminate dairy and gluten, since these foods cause inflammation and discomfort for many people. There are numerous choices of whole foods here that are dairy and gluten-free – here are some of them!

Some entrees that are in line with the FASTer Way lifestyle are: 

Chicken Kabobs 

Shrimp Kabobs 

Salmon Kabobs 

Mediterranean Chicken 

Moroccan Citrus Roasted Chicken

Some sides are: 

Roasted Vegetables 

Fresh Fruit 

Potato Salad 

Braised White Beans 

Turmeric Rice

Some sauces are: 

Zoe’s Dressing 

Israeli Skhug 

Italian Salsa Verde 

Moroccan Harissa

I recommend the family meals! I frequently order these meal deals when we have guests or when we go out for a picnic. Since I already have a large family, I frequently order two! They are filling, high quality, and relatively inexpensive. And of course – easy!

Happy eating!

Want my FREE 5 day Meal Guide? Grab it here!

READY TO START my next FASTer Way New Client experience? I’d love that – go here!

Not ready yet? No problem – join my WAITLIST to stay up-to-date!

“Finally confident and strong and HEALTHY”

See that confident, strong, and healthy beauty on the right? That’s the Andrea I know! I met her through our FASTer Way to Fat Loss coach group. It’s been a pleasure to meet Andrea – she’s naturally generous, kind, and supportive.

Her story resonates with me on a number of levels, and I bet it will for you, too. I’ll have her tell it in her own words:

“See me over there on the left? I was so exhausted and frustrated. I was trying to do everything and be everything for my kids, my husband, and my friends. I showed up for every event and every person that asked for my help. I just never showed up for myself. Nobody was getting the best of me. Especially not me. ⁣⁣
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When I started looking for pictures of me before the FASTer Way I couldn’t find many. I literally have hundreds and hundreds of pictures of birthdays, holidays, vacations…and I am barely in any of them. I have been hiding from the camera for years. I’m literally missing from the memories. ⁣⁣
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The truth is I would see pictures like these and immediately get motivated to cut my calories down to nothing and spend at least 2 hours at the gym everyday I could. I was ashamed of my body so I punished myself. ⁣⁣
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I have started and stopped and then succeeded and failed at so many different attempts to lose fat and get healthy. ⁣⁣
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Fast forward to me now. Y’all the game has changed for me. I am finally confident and strong and HEALTHY. I have nothing to ‘go back’ to eating because I’m not deprived of anything. I work out for about 30 minutes in my living room. I don’t care how cliche it sounds, the FASTer Way has genuinely changed my life.”

The part of Andrea’s story that really stands out to me is the fact that she was always putting others ahead of herself. Selflessness is so admirable, but may not be sustainable. Have you been showing up big time for everyone but yourself? Do you put other’s needs ahead of your own? (Enneagram type 2s, this post is for you!) I would encourage you and your wonderful servant’s heart to consider your health and wellness a top priority! You will be able to help more people over time when you are a healthier you.

Thank you, Andrea, for allowing me to share your story. It encourages me very much and I know it will encourage others!


Want my FREE 5 day Meal Guide? Grab it here!

READY TO START my next FASTer Way New Client experience? I’d love that – go here!

Not ready yet? No problem – join my WAITLIST to stay up-to-date!