Sharing my thoughts on cardio during perimenopause the best cardio strategies. 

Hi friends! How are you? I hope that your morning is off to a great start! How was the weekend? We went to my brother’s wedding, which was gorgeous and wonderful (I’ll share pics in Friday Faves!), and just enjoyed a low-key weekend. I caught up on some spring cleaning and enjoying the beautiful weather outside.

For today’s post, I wanted to chat a little bit about cardio. I feel like there’s SO MUCH cardio *noise* right now.

“Stop doing all cardio! Just walk.”

“Cardio messes up your hormones!”

“HIIT is the devil!”

The reality is that cardio is good… it’s healthy for your heart, ya know… but you just have to be strategic about the type of cardio you’re doing, where you are in your health journey, and how often you’re doing it. A big factor is perimenopause and things changing over time.

A quick lil refresher: perimenopause is the 8-10 years before menopause (where you have no cycle for 12 consecutive months) and hormone levels start to change. I don’t think I’m quite there yet – I turned 40 in November – but I know it’s around the corner and that many of my reader friends are in this sweet spot.

During perimenopause, it’s common to notice changes in energy levels, recovery time, and how our bodies respond to different types of exercise. Strength training remains the most important form of exercise during this phase, because it helps to preserve lean muscle mass, support bone density, and keep metabolism revved up. However, cardio still plays an essential role – it just might need to look a little different than it did in our 20s and 30s.

I think we can all remember the time when hours of high-intensity cardio were our life. I’d take multiple aerobic classes in a row, or spend hours on a Starclimber with a text book propped up. My hormones were also a mess. THANK THE LORD these days are over.

During perimenopause, I think it’s important to be strategic, focusing on movement that supports hormonal balance, stress management, and longevity while keeping inflammation in check. I wanted to chat about the best cardio strategies to incorporate into your routine during this transitional phase. *As always, talk to a doctor before making any fitness changes.*

The Best Cardio Strategies for Perimenopause

1. Walking & Hiking: Gentle But Effective

Walking is one of the most underrated forms of cardio, and during perimenopause, it’s a gamechanger. It helps manage stress, supports cardiovascular health, and keeps cortisol (our stress hormone) from spiking too high.

Aim for 8,000-10,000 steps per day as a general goal. If that goal seems impossible, see where your baseline is

Sharing my top health and wellness picks from the Amazon Spring Sale.

Spring is in the aiiirrrrr and this week, I’m feeling all of the motivation to get my life together. 😉 I want to empty cabinets and closets, purge, and spring clean. I also feel like I want to revamp some things around the house, and get our home gym put back together. It’s been chaos around here for quite a while and now that the Pilot’s retired, I have high hopes that we can do some things around the house.

I’m super excited because Amazon’s spring sale is this week, and they have SO many great deals on health and wellness essentials. I sorted through the sale and wanted to share some in today’s post if you have spring workout goals, are looking for a little treat, or want to make some healthy changes in your household.

*Please note that affiliate links are included below. Thank you so so much to those of you who support the blog by shopping through my links. 

Here are some of my favorite health and wellness finds from the Amazon Spring Sale.

Health and Wellness Faves from Amazon’s Spring Sale

Shoes, clothing, and accessories:

Barefoot shoes for women. I usually wear Vivobarefoot but have seen so many people rave about these and you can’t beat the price! I ordered a pair to try out.

Also an amazing price on these hiking/water shoes. I LOVE functional hiking shoes that I can get wet if needed.

Women’s joggers – perfect for low-impact workouts, travel, or life.

More comfy joggers.

This lulu align tank dupe. I have so many colors and also like buying these for Liv.

I also have and love this one in pink.

Classic running shorts that aren’t *too* short.

Grippy socks for barre or Pilates classes.

These biker shorts have amazing reviews.

Running shorts with a hidden pocket and liner.

Read more

Sharing some tips about teaching kids healthy eating habits.

Hi friends! I hope you’re having an amazing week. We’re off to San Diego – I can’t wait!! – and I’ll definitely post the adventures over on Instagram stories.

To introduce new friends to the blog, I write posts each week for search purposes. This is one of those posts, so if you’re new here, Hi!! and please join my weekly newsletter if you’d like to stick around for updates. <3

Today’s topic is an important one, and I’m sure many of my friends out there have some amazing advice to share in the comments.

Teaching kids about healthy habits early on is one of the most important things we can do as parents. Healthy eating habits can be instilled at home, and it sets the foundation for a lifetime of well-being. The teaching process can be long, challenging, and sometimes overwhelming, especially with picky eaters and the abundance of processed foods available.

Today, I wanted to chat about some practical and effective tips on how to teach kids healthy eating habits in a way that’s enjoyable, sustainable, and stress-free.

(Baby Liv! I can’t even)

How To Teach Kids Healthy Eating Habits

Developing a positive relationship with food starts young. Kids learn best by example, and parents play a huge role in shaping their children’s food choices. Today, I’m share some thoughts on why teaching healthy eating habits is crucial, how to encourage kids to make nutritious choices, and some easy habits to introduce at home.

A friendly note here that I’m NOT perfect and this is always a work in progress. Our kids definitely still have sugar, food dyes, and processed foods, but this is the exception, not the rule. Thankfully, they eat a lot of fresh, organic, whole foods, and for the most part, fuel their little bodies really well. They’re great eaters, and these are just some of the things that have helped us. This post is for informational purposes and not medical advice.

Why Are Healthy Eating Habits Important For Kids

Healthy eating habits formed in childhood often carry into adulthood, impacting long-term health, weight management, and overall well-being.

Teaching kids to eat a variety of nutrient-dense foods helps:

Support proper growth and development

Strengthen the immune system

Establish good eating habits that prevent future health issues

Reduce reliance on ultra-processed foods high in added sugars and unhealthy fats

Encourage a positive relationship with food and an appreciation for balanced meals

It’s much easier to shape a child’s eating habits early on rather than trying to change unhealthy patterns later in life.

Read more

Sharing some tips on how I’ve improved my eyesight over the past two years. This is just my personal experience and I’m not a doctor. Always check with you eye doctor before changing anything in your routine. Eyes are kind of important you don’t want to mess around, mm k?

Hi friends! I hope that you’re having a lovely morning and thank you for all of your excitement about Healing Code. I have so many strategy calls booked and can’t wait to connect with all of you. You can check out the details and book your free strategy call here.

Today’s post is a popular reader’s request, and one I’ve been thinking about doing for about a year, but was on the fence. I hesitate because I’m not a doctor, definitely not an eye doctor, but I’ve been forced to learn a LOT about eyes over the past two years who no one could really help me with my eye issues. I finally found an incredible dry eye specialist but also had to take matters into my own hands. Other doctors were completely stumped, and wanted me to depend on steriod drops that were raising my eye pressure. I learned a lot and love to share everything I’ve learned with you, but please do not accept this as medical advice of any kind. Always always reach out to your doctor before changing anything in your routine.

Ok, so my eye story. A couple of years ago, I changed a lot with my eye routine and eye care. (I’ll share some of these things below.) Over the past year, I also noticed that my glasses felt too strong for me. They started to bother me, and felt like magnifying glasses, especially while I was driving. I was due for my annual eye doctor appointment, and went to a new office because the last Rx appointment was a disaster (she gave me contacts and I ended up being allergic to the contacts or solution, and when I went back to the office she acted like it was my fault that my eyes were completely swollen.) Ok, so new place, and I decided I wasn’t going to tell him my glasses felt too strong just in case it was a fluke.

He did my eye exam and told me that for the first time in my life, my prescription had decreased. I had been a -5.25 since 6th grade, and now my Rx was down to -5.0. This was a huge win, and I was pumped about it!!

I’ve carried on, and recently decided to order a pair of prescription Vivarays after doing a ton of research on blue light blocking glasses. I wanted to find a company that did it RIGHT, and Vivarays is that company. (They kindly created a discount code, FITNESSISTA, and I’ll definitely post a full review!) My glasses had started to have that magnifying glass feeling again, so I went for a prescription re-check because I didn’t want to order new glasses if it had changed.

I told the eye doctor (the same guy – he’s excellent) that my glasses felt too strong while I was reading. I started to take my glasses off to read, and they also bothered me when I was on my computer for too long. He checked my reading vision, holding a pamphlet about 2 ft in front of me, and my reading prescription was -2.50 – half of my current prescription!! He wrote me a new prescription that I can use while I’m just doing things around the house, reading, and working on the computer.

I shared the good news on Instagram and was flooded with requests to write this post. The reality is that I’ve done a lot of things, and feel like it’s a mix of ALL of these strategies; not just one.

Read more

Hey hey hey! How’s your day going?? It’s been a wild week over here but all is well.

For today’s post, I wanted to talk about cardio dilemmas, and what type of cardio to do after weight training sessions. I feel like there’s a lot of confusion about this, and one of the things that hinders people from doing solo cardio is the fact that they don’t know what to do. It’s SO MUCH EASIER to get it done if you have a plan in place.

What Types Of Cardio Strength Training To Do After Strength Training

Why do we need cardio? How much cardio should we get in each week??

Cardio (also known as cardiovascular exercise) is not only an effective method to burn fat, build endurance, and increase speed, but it’s also obviously important for heart health and helps build muscle mass. Cardio consists of anything that keeps our heart rate elevated for a sustained amount of time. From this website: “Building cardiorespiratory endurance through regular physical activity allows your heart and lungs to work more efficiently, thereby improving your physical capacity to deal with stress and lowering your risk factors for several chronic diseases. Regular physical activity helps control obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol — with a net result of cutting your heart disease risk almost in half, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. By providing weight control, regular exercise also cuts your risk factors for developing Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. Additionally, building cardiorespiratory endurance benefits mental health by providing a buffer against anxiety and depression.”

There are so many cardio methods in the fitness ocean, but I like to break them down into 5 main categories:

-Steady-state

-Tempo work

-Hill/resistance work

-HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)

-Active recovery or NEAT (Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis, or what I refer to as “unintentional exercise,” like gardening, vacuuming, walking the dogs, cleaning, etc.)

According to NASM, we need at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiorespiratory exercise, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity, or a combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity exercise per week. The weekly recommendation for resistance training is 2 or more times a week with exercises for all the major muscle groups (minimum of 1 set of 8-12 repetitions for each muscle group). Flexibility and neuromotor exercises (balance, agility, coordination) are also recommended at least twice per week.

Why we should alternate cardio intensities:

It is SO important to not only vary the mode of exercise you do but the intensity of the workload.

The body is a smart machine and gets used to the same demands over time. For example, if you hike a strenuous trail for the first time, chances are that your heart rate will be elevated, your legs will be sore, and you’ll burn a ton of calories. If you begin to hike that same trail, every day, for weeks on end, you may find that it starts to feel easy. Your heart rate isn’t as elevated, it doesn’t feel challenging to you, and you burn fewer calories. Also, maybe you begin to feel a nagging pain in the outer part of your knees from the slight tilt of the trail to one side.

When we