Sharing my top blog posts and pages of 2024

Hi friends! How are you? How was the weekend? Ours was a good one. The kids had lots of friend time, P had a basketball game, and I taught two barre classes. The Pilot had to work and it’s hard to believe it was his last drill weekend EVER; he retires at the end of the month!

For today’s post, I’m sharing a roundup of my top blog posts and pages from the past year. It’s always fun to go through analytics and see which posts perform well, and almost all of these are posts I created to try to give a ton of value, like a recipe, a how-to, full review, etc. It’s also an interesting year because quite a few of these are posts that my SEO team went back and did surgery on. SEO is SEO-ing and I’m into it! It’s also such a great way to introduce new readers to the blog and keep posts from being published and dying.

Here’s the full roundup!

Top posts and pages of 2024

1. The blog homepage

This one means the most to me because it means that a majority of readers are my internet besties who click directly to the blog without finding it through Google. I love hanging out with all of you each day and it means that world to me that you check in to see what’s going on. <3

2. Healthy Homemade Dog Food

Masiey’s dog food recipe! I loved putting this post together because she LOVES this dog food so.much, and so many people have let me know that their pups love it, too! I make a huge batch every two weeks or so and she goes crazy for it.

3. Homemade gelatin gummies for gut health

This is a recipe that the kids ask to make all the time; they love it and it’s such a good way to get in some gut-nourishing ingredients.

4. Easy enchiladas with rotisserie chicken

Seriously the easiest enchilada recipe that I make all the time and is a true crowd pleaser. Using rotisserie chicken makes it way faster, too!

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Sharing my tips on dealing with burnout.

Hi friends! I hope you’re having a wonderful morning. We have a couple of appointments today, and it’s back to school and the *real world* after a glorious winter break. We slept in almost every day, watched a ton of movies, played Tucson tourists, ate takeout, got together with friends and family, and just enjoyed our time together. I hardly touched my laptop, but I’m excited to be back at it today!

For today’s post, I wanted to talk a bit about burnout, which is a little bit of a triggering topic. So many of us know exactly what burnout feels like, and it’s horrible. I picture myself in full burnout mode, and how exhausted and utterly depleted I felt, and I just want to give my past self a hug.

I was a Type A, super anxious child, who spent my childhood into my 20s in flight or fight. Then, I got married, started this wild adventure of a military life (we’re almost done!!) and became a mom. It was such a beautiful time, but it was a hard time — I feel like I missed a lot of the girls’ baby years because I was dealing with postpartum depression/anxiety, and completely burned out.

I know that this is what led me down the path towards mystery health issues and autoimmune symptoms.

While I’m not *fully* recovered from burnout, I’m now symptom-free and feel a million times better. I’m always a work in progress and learning as much as I can, but wanted to share some of the things that helped in today’s post. As always, this is not medical advice! Just sharing my experience, and if you’re dealing with burnout, please reach out to someone who can help you on a path to wellness and peace; you deserve to feel amazing <3

How to deal with burnout

Let yourself be a little more Type B

This was a huge one for me, and has also been the hardest one. I just learned that I can’t be everything to everyone all the time. I can’t do everything, I can’t be perfect, I can’t have a perfectly clean house 24/7, wear makeup and look cute all the time, and say yes to the millions of social activities and kid events.

Sometimes now I’ll leave the dishes in the sink until the morning, I’ll leave laundry on the chair for an extra, day, I’ll go out in public looking like a hot.mess, and will say no to events and invitations. I also used to work 24/7, but I stopped answering emails after hours and try to close my computer at a reasonable time.

The messy house is a stressor for me, so I still try to clean every day, but I’ll set a timer. When it goes off, that’s it. Also, the kids are older now and can help more!

Incorporate things in your day that you enjoy, that are just for you

This is SO important. It’s so easy to feel burned out when your entire day is consumed with tasks for other people. You *have* to t

Sharing the top 15 reader purchases of 2024! 

Hi friends! How are you? I hope that you had an amazing weekend and that you’re enjoying the New Year so far. Liv’s birthday is in two days, the kids are still home from school, and I’m here trying to slowly get everyone back in the swing of things 😉 School wakeup is going to be ROUGH lol.

For today’s post, I wanted to share the top reader purchases of 2024! I always love to go back through analytics and see which products you love the most that I shared here on the blog. Thank you so much to those of you who shop through my affiliate links. They directly support this little blog and our family <3

Here’s the full roundup!

Top reader purchases of 2024

1) HigherDOSE Sauna Blanket

#1 by a landslide and I’m so pumped that so many of you love it as much as I do! I get amazing comments and messages about this blanket almost every day!

It’s especially cozy during the winter months when it’s cold outside; nothing feels better than crawling into the toasty warm sauna blanket, watching a movie or show, and getting an awesome sweat. I sleep so well when I use this, too! My code is FITNESSISTA15 if you want to check it out here

2) Canopy shower filter

This shower filter is a GAMECHANGER for skin and hair — we all noticed a difference right away! You can check it out here and use FITNESSISTA for a discount.

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Sharing a list of my very favorite, and what I consider to be the best, single-leg exercises! I hope this post will inspire you to include more unilateral training in your routine. 

Hi hi! How are you doing today? I hope you’re having a wonderful week so far!

For today, let’s talk fitness-y things. Single-leg exercises are one of my favorite elements to include in lower-body workouts. Single exercises are – you guessed it- exercises using just one side of your lower body at a time. Leg strength is important no matter what sport you choose or fitness mode you enjoy. Strong legs support everyday movements and our ability to perform, and focusing on one leg at a time can have several benefits. In today’s post, I’m sharing a roundup of the best single leg exercises that can help you reach your legs’ fullest potential.

(Set was gifted from Vuori. I love everything on their site, and especially their leggings and joggers.)

Why train unilaterally?

It’s SO easy to use bilateral exercises to *depend* on our strongest side. Think about a barbell biceps curl vs. a dumbbell curl. With the barbell, you’ll lift the weight without the true ability to determine if the weight is split equally between sides. Your stronger side will always kick in to help you complete the rep, which can cause muscle imbalances to go unnoticed. By training one side at a time, like with a dumbbell curl, you can really focus on developing strength in the weaker side. This will not only promote muscle symmetry, but also potentially prevent altered movement patterns from depending on the stronger sides of the body.

Here are some of my favorite single-leg exercises to include on leg day! As always, check with a doctor before making any fitness changes. Honor your body and modify as needed.

Best Single Leg Exercises

Single-leg deadlift (a.k.a. Single-Leg RDL)

Holding a dumbbell or kettlebell, shift your weight to your left leg, then float your right leg off the floor behind you. Keeping your weight on your front leg, hinge at the waist and tilt forward, keeping your back straight, until the weight reaches just below the knees (or as far as you can go while maintaining a flat back). Keep your right leg straight behind you. Exhale and return to an upright position. Repeat with your other leg. Make sure to keep your hips parallel to the floor and look straight ahead throughout this leg workout.

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Sharing a roundup of some of my favorite post workout snacks and ideas for fueling around your workouts. 

Hi friends! How’s the morning going? I hope you’re having a great one so far! I’m over here editing podcast content and have client calls the rest of the day.

For today, I wanted to chat a bit about workout fueling and some pot workout snacks. While I am a certified nutrition coach, personal trainer, and Integrative Health Practitioner, these are just friendly general suggestions. As always, reach out to your personal RD or health team for personalized advice.

As we all know, I looove working out. Some days are easier than others, but I experience so many amazing benefits from taking the time to move my body each day; I’m sure many of you can relate. It gives me mental clarity, energy, strength, confidence, and I love checking the box towards long-term health. After I work out, I usually have a meal or a healthy snack. Fueling yourself post exercise can maximize performance, speed up muscle recovery, and restore energy levels.

Just a heads up that not all snacks are created equal—some can derail progress.

Today I wanted to share a roundup of healthy post workout snacks that will help refuel, rebuild muscle tissue, and help you feel satisfied after sweaty workouts.

10 Healthy Post Workout Snacks

There’s a lot of nuance to workout fueling: how hungry are you? What time of day is it? What type of workout are you doing? What did you already eat today?

My very general rule of thumb is nothing or a little carbs before a workout, protein + carbs afterwards. When you include carbohydrates and protein, this can help restore glucose levels, support muscle repair and post workout recovery.

Here are some ideas for store-bought snacks and homemade recipes that include both plant-based and traditional meat protein sources.

Is It Healthy To Eat After A Workout?

Eating after a workout is one of the keys to recovery, whether it’s a snack or a meal. It depends on the timing of your workout.

Intense workouts break down muscle tissue and deplete glycogen stores.

Some of the benefits of eating after a workout:

Muscle recovery and repair – Provides essential amino acids for protein synthesis.

Restores energy – Replenishes glycogen through carbohydrates. When you combine protein and carbs, this can potentially enhance this.

Reduces muscle soreness – Supports faster healing and reduces inflammation.

Optimizes performance – Fuels the body for future workouts. You can crush your workouts if you’re depleted!