Dr. Alisa DiFruscia ND

A skill you’re forgetting to practice |

When it comes to anything new that you do, you need to develop certain skills, and then you use those skills to create habits that make sense for you and what you want to accomplish from developing them. Some call it a learning curve

The one skill that we teach through working towards your best physique and health is psychological flexibility. Like thinking outside the box. Being more solution focused and ‘on the path’ rather than problem focused and ‘falling off the horse’.

Psychological flexibility is the skill to develop that will make the biggest difference in making progress towards something versus spinning your wheels.

It’s being able to look at a situation that’s not ideal for you and say

Whats the best choice I can make

versus just throwing in the towel because it wasn’t a grand slam home run situation

When you consistently choose to think the first way, thats you developing the skill of psychological flexibility.

It’s not an easy skill to develop, especially when it comes to getting into the best shape of your life. It can feel kind of hard sometimes.

You know what else is hard? Having zero growth in life.

It’s simple - Choose your hard |

The are officially expanding!

We are so honoured and excited to announce the newest addition to the business, Justine Austin.

Justine has not only been involved in the naturopathic community for the last 3 years, but she knows exactly what it’s like to -

1. Not have a “system” that works for her and the lifestyle she wants

2. Coach and guide other women just like her through this same exact journey. She has spent the last few years helping coach women 1:1 through their own nutrition and ‘weight loss’ confusion.

𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲?

It was an easy choice. She’s just as passionate about liberating females from confusion by educating them on which habits to focus on to create a strong foundation for their health, physique, and lifestyle. The educational and coaching component of healthcare is more important now than it ever was, and Justine is able to effortlessly blend the two together just like we do.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽?

All 3 of us know what it’s like to be spending all of your energy (both mental and physical) on trying to figure out whats going to get you to the place you want with your health and physique.

This energy spent on all of this b.s. is actually getting in the way of your basic needs in life. If you don’t feel secure in your home (aka your body), you’re limiting yourself in more ways than you think.

Chronic guess work about how to care for your body and physique impedes growth in other areas of your life.

Knowing not only how the body works, but how YOUR body works will help you feel grounded and secure. It’s truly liberating.

This is what we provide our clients. We call it Lifestyle Medicine.

We see from first hand experience that this allows them to feel empowered and confident, which has a domino effect into all other areas of their life so that they can grow and achieve great things.

𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝘀?

It means more opportunity to help more of you because life is too short to worry about the healthiest cooking oil, or if donkey kick backs on the stair-master are necessary (hint - they’re not).

We love the health and fitness industry. We’re grateful for it - we’re apart of it 🙂

The sh*tty thing about the h&f industry is that there are so many claims around these hot topics that fall along the entire spectrum of “health and fitness” - which ultimately creates things like “fad diets” and extreme beliefs.

Here’s the thing. You can prove all of these claims with some kind of data / research. Whether it’s good quality research or not, there are many methods that work to get the number on the scale lower.

What is the method you’re using costing you? … and is it even producing you the result you want?

If it’s costing you your entire social life, brain space, and most importantly, your health -

Then the research might not matter as much. Even though there may be 100 ways to “lose weight”, in our opinion, theres only one way to do it without feeling like everything you’re doing for it is a sacrifice.

And theres only one way to do it while getting stronger. Getting stronger is hot.

a moment for J getting my full “attenchin”

Success is never owned

Only rented

This describes taking care of yourself perfectly. You might work your ass off to finally feel like you achieved success and reached ‘optimal health’, but just because you got there - it doesn’t mean you now stay there.

You have to work to stay there. Or stay “around” there. A point of optimal health doesn’t exist anyways. There are so many components of your health that one cannot constantly be at the point of optimal health.

But you can work to consistently be in pursuit of optimal health (ie. repeat habits that are focused around health optimization) - but the truth is, the finish line is when you’re dead. It’s not next weekend at Becky’s bday party or at Joe’s bachelor party in Vegas.

It’s the same with your physique. The road to your dream physique might feel “long and hard”, and once you get there - the work doesn’t stop.

Maybe the work becomes easier.

Maybe more habitual.

But being in incredible shape isn’t “owned”, it’s worked for. It’s rented. And you have to pay your rent in the kitchen. In the gym. In your weekly activity levels.

How are you paying rent today?

I did nottt grow up as an athlete. My parents tell a great story of my first ever soccer season - I sat down on the field mid play, pulled out nail polish from my shin guards, and proceeded to rally my teammates on the field to sit down with me. Mani party for the girls! 💅

I got into resistance training in university. I fell in love with moving my body and the way it made me feel, so I went on to get a number of certifications (personal, group training, yoga).

I always had a plan going into my individual session but never had an overall greater plan of how my individual sessions could create a compounding effect. Looking back, I didn’t even know the potential and physical improvements I was missing out on even with the amount I was training (5-6x per week).

It served a couple different purposes in my life then - one being a fantastic outlet from the pressures of school and studying, and of course to avoid the freshman 15 (which I don’t think worked, btw). Enjoyment as well as the social life I gained from being involved in the gym were huge factors for me, too!

Things are different for me now. I no longer want to or can afford to spend every day in the gym. I train the way I do to fuel the other areas in my life in a ‘minimum effective dose’ type of way. I don’t train because it’s my highest value - aside from the physical results, I do it because of the self worth, confidence, and personal development gains. These gains spill over into so many other areas of my life.

I was just spinning my wheels with no clear vision back then. I am now who I needed 10 years ago.

I wish I understood what I understand now. I didn’t think about how each training session truly compounds week after week, and how each exercise serves a purpose for building muscle, not burning calories. Trust me on this one - it’s so much cooler to see your hard work actually pay off both mentally and physically. Knowing you’re achieving a personal goal you set combined with actually achieving the physique progress you want to make all at the same time…to me, that’s one of the highest forms of self care you can provide yourself 💛

The best part about our clients transformation is that the outer transformation is the tip of the iceberg! The act of setting and achieving goals builds confidence in a way that most people never experience.

We talk about this often when we think about someone’s overall health - the way you feel about your body (body image) is part of your health. It’s okay to want to improve your body image by working on improving your body composition. There’s so much resistance to it in this field. Yes. Accept your body and appreciate it for what it does. You only have one! It’s hard to feel bad about a body when you’re making the choice to take care of it. Taking action to improve it and the way it works, functions, feels, and looks (stronger, healthier) is directly connected to your overall health. Let’s not fight it. Let’s learn and lean into it. You’ll actually increase your self worth because of it. If there’s one thing EVERYONE can improve on - it’s self worth 🤎.

not rach and I 😅

What would happen if you channelled all the effort that you use in your 5-6 HIIT sessions that you do every week and instead directed that into 3 weight training sessions & learned how to train with real purpose and intention?

What would happen if you channelled all of the energy you put in to worrying about what 30 day cleanse or fad diet you should be following, or worrying about if you’re eating “healthy enough” to see that change you want, and instead focused on consistent ex*****on of a simple plan that actually worked - long term.

I can guarantee you that you’d have more mental space and freedom to channel that unevenly dispersed mental energy into other important areas in your life. Imagine the potential you could unlock?

So where do you want to spend your mental energy today? Because everything has a mental cost, and every day you are gifted a finite amount of mental energy to spend.

Design a lifestyle that gives you back energy — rather than takes it away and delivers less value. There’s no price tag on clarity 💭

Part of our clients responsibility is checking in with us. Part of our job is to make sure the plan we agreed on together is still serving them in the most optimal and enjoyable way possible.

It also gives our clients the ability to consistently take extreme ownership of their mindset, behaviours, and choices. They have the opportunity to be honest with themselves and determine if they’re making actions towards the life and physique they envision for themselves.

Having a sub optimal mindset when striving to be in incredible shape can create clashes between what you value and actions that you’re taking.

If you want this year to be the year you stop spinning your wheels with your diet and stalling your progression in the gym, we’d love to jump on the phone with you to help you finally get the results you know your capable of getting.

Any coach can get you to 70% of your potential. Our standards start above 90%.

Ready to raise the standards you set for yourself? Swipe to see how our clients are raising theirs ❤️‍🔥

who’s cuter? us or Copenhagen?
vote below 😅

I sometimes hesitate to post fun photos of myself that I love, like this, in a sunny location because I’m aware of how the human brain works. As you’re scrolling through Instagram, you forget that it’s just a highlight reel - and I know photos like this can easily trigger a negative emotional response because our brains automatically start creating ANTS (automatic negative thoughts).

It’s EASY to compare ourselves to others.

It’s Easy to talk bad about our bodies/physique.

It’s Easy to say to yourself that your physique will never look like ‘that’.

It’s Easy to stay in your comfort zone of life - even when you want something more.

It’s Easy to tell yourself you’re not capable of achieving something great.

Easy choices = a hard life.

It’s time to start changing the language. What’s not easy is talking positively about yourself, your physique, believing in yourself, being ambitious, and going after your goals even when you think you can’t.

Hard choices = an easy life.

I challenge you every time you have a negative thought or disbelief about yourself and what you can achieve, to immediately switch it to you celebrating the physique and life you currently have. Set an alarm to go off that reminds you of something you love about yourself, or write it on a sticky note or on your mirror.

Why? Because changing you body from a place of hate and envy doesn’t produce the inner change that is required to maintain results both physically and mentally. Changing your physique is a lot easier when you do it from a place of love. Eating well, and moving your body intentionally must be acts of self love.

Only when you’re in a state of feeling good and loving yourself will you really be able to follow through with the actions that bring you to a place you truly want to be.
💛

Rx: 10k steps per day

I know we may sound like a broken record when we say walking and getting outside are the most underrated forms of medicine - and bonus, free.

If you’re not currently doing this and able to add it into your daily routine, I highly recommend and truly believe it can be a life changing addition.

If you’re already apart of the 10k club, what benefits have you noticed?

Tag your walking buddy or someone you love to schedule a walking date with this week 🤗

🧡

Does your doctor ask about sleep? Diet? Stress? I hope so.

Prescribe you medication without inquiring about any of the above? I hope not!

A recent study from the Cleveland clinic showed that patients who received holistic care showed improvements in their health at both 6 and 12 month marks that were significantly larger compared to patients seen in primary care settings.

Holistic/functional/naturopathic medicine is all about caring for and looking at the body as a whole with the focus on the root causes of disease rather than an isolated set of symptoms. It’s based on the evidence and understanding that lifestyle factors – such as nutrition, sleep, exercise, stress levels, relationships and genetics – affect your overall health and being unwell in one aspect affects you in others.

These lifestyle factors are also major contributors to chronic disease - all of which are addressed when working to improve your body composition with Rachel and I.

Changing your body composition is all about getting the right foundations in place... the same thing we'd recommend when trying to resolve unwanted symptoms (ie. mood changes, mental health issues, hormonal issues etc) we recommend when addressing physique goals. Thats the base. When you have a solid base, you don't get shaken as much.

Improvement in body composition is guaranteed but our model is associated with improvements in health-related quality of life. 🪄

WHY?
I posted my body composition transformation on my story, and I received such a great reflective question that I want to share my answer to!

But before I answer the why, I want to give a little bit of context.

Everyone has different starting points - I didn’t have a lot of body fat to lose. Not only did I reduce my bf%, I also gained a bit of muscle mass.

Now - to answer why.

There’s a few reasons.

Docere (doctor) means to teach. I feel that I teach others to be their own doctor for themselves in a way. How can I teach them if I’m not learning / improving the way I do it for myself?

How can I tell my patients and clients to do the work if I’m not right there with them? I pride myself in practicing what I preach.

It would be SO easy for me to tell you how to get from point A to point B - ie. current physique to goal physique, current mental state to goal mental state, current blood work results to goal blood work results…but it’s a WHOLE OTHER THING to teach you not only how to do it, but also how to MAINTAIN it for life. This is where coaching and healthc kk are collide⚡️.

I want to give you the ability to say NO to sacrificing your health for aesthetics.

I want to help you feel good in your body - it’s your home and it feels SO good to feel good.

Continuing to be challenged and consistently setting goals for my own self improvement has enhanced my life - I’m a better doctor, coach, partner, daughter, sister, and friend.

There’s always more to learn and having another lens/perspective is important. Every doctor needs a doctor, and every coach needs a coach.

xo
Dr. D

Do you have more gas in the tank? You probably do.

I train 3 days a week because I want to be efficient with my time. As you can see if you swipe 🥲😳😅i'm putting in the work (or dramatic? You decide). But If I’m going to show up physically to the gym, I might as well show up mentally, too. Training 3x per week is easy to fit into a busy schedule, but the effort and internal focus of attention I put into my sessions is nearly 10/10.

I get excited to go into a training session, yet also a little nervous because I want to improve from my prior session. And sometimes I don’t! But 95% of the time I do (because I value being recovery focused - more on this later).

It isn’t always about continuing to load the bar with weight either. Progressing in training sessions can look like:

-lifting heavier
-better form/technique (same reps #)
-more reps at the same weight
-longer pauses at the top range of an exercise

Pick your key exercises, and do them every week. For a long time. And enjoy getting super strong at them!! Have a look at the end of each of my sets... I’m grinding for those last reps - they're not cute. The cute stuff won’t get you results.

I always tell my clients: if you're not making a funny face, you're doing it wrong.

If you think performing 15-20 reps at light weight will make you “toned”, I’m sorry to say that you need to grab your research from other/more reliable sources!

Muscles do two things: they either SHRINK or GROW. They don't get toned.

Are you being efficient with your time in the gym? I don't know about you, but I’d much rather train 3x with purpose vs 5-6x with the mindset of "just getting it done".

On top of this, more rest days = more free time for yourself to do things you enjoy, work towards your other goals, and even just time to actually knock off the stuff on your to do list that's been there for months.

Cheers to training with purpose, saying no to the cute stuff and more rest days 🥳

love our love 💗

29✨

“My hormones are the reason I can’t lose weight”

HORMONE IMBALANCE IS A SYMPTOM

It’s not a diagnosis.

Hormones don’t just become imbalanced on their own - it’s usually a result of deeper issues ie. gut issues, overdrive of the nervous system (meaning you’re in fight or flight), and increase in inflammatory messengers.

Focusing on just your hormones doesn’t do much. What will make majority of the difference is getting to the root issue of why your hormones are imbalanced in the first place. We have to look at our lifestyle and environment - for example, stress levels, what you’re eating, how much you’re eating, how many minerals you’re consuming, your sleep quality, your movement and exercise etc.

Here is some math to consider:

Environment = sum of daily habits + mindset

If our hormones respond to our environment (and our environment is a sum of our daily habits and mindset)….

Then making improvements to your environment will be one of the most effective and efficient ways to get your hormones in check.

Healthy environment = healthy results.

From our own experience, hormone imbalances resolve when healthy habits put strong foundations in place. Don’t get me wrong, the supplements, herbs, and pharmaceuticals help - but on average, only about 20-30%. The rest is lifestyle (environment, mind, and body).

You see, it’s all connected. By focusing on enhancing your body composition, we see hormone improvements across the board.

Your hormones are not the reason you’re not losing weight. It’s your environment!

🦁🦁at the market - they let us out of the zoo

things I’ve been trying to do more of lately:

〰️drink more water (I struggle unless it’s in the form of tea but still counts right 😜)
〰️say “thank you” in my head or out loud several times a day
〰️time block/plan a set time in my schedule for answering texts, emails and social media and not doing so outside of those times
〰️NOT time block or make a schedule one day a week

how about you? are you trying to incorporate more (or less) of anything lately? ✨✨

Here’s a question we get a lot - if a certain food item is better or worse than another ie. Is a Lara bar better than a Rx bar?

The truth is it has nothing to do with your ability to achieve the body composition result that you desire.

You’re just overcomplicating things … and it’s not your fault!

The wellness industry has overwhelmed us with far too many choices, and marketing makes you believe that you’ll be left behind if you’re missing the next fad diet… or food… or biohack.

Decision fatigue is the kind of fatigue that you don’t even notice. We make decisions consciously and unconsciously every single day. By the end of the day – you feel exhausted. Think about it – why do you think many overeat or overindulge in the evening and not in the morning? Your ability to make decisions is much more efficient at the beginning of the day.

Achieving your goals and getting results is about habits and trends. Daily, weekly, monthly. It’s not about what protein bar is better. When I feel like I get too focused on the details, I always remind myself to “zoom out, not in”.

You can definitely say GOOD-BYE to decision fatigue when you work with us. We simplify health, lifestyle, and how to achieve your body composition goals that you’ve been working so hard for.

Why do we always try to “wait” for the right time to commit to our health or body composition goals?

“Now isn’t the right time – I’m so busy”

I hate to break it to you, but you will always be “busy”.

Christmas festivities will be back again next winter. Summer and patio season will be back again next summer. Once you’re past the age of having weddings to attend every weekend, you might be busy driving kids around.

Our bodies and health aren’t amazon prime. Your health and physique doesn’t turn itself around in 1-2 days! (sadly 🤪)

What are your actions showing you your priorities are?

Do they fall in line with what you actually want?

Achieving your goals and getting results is grounded in your daily and weekly habits.

💡Why not use a system that allows you to maintain your health goals regardless of the time of year?

This is what Rachel and I do – we help you design a lifestyle that works for you AND gets you the health and body composition results you want!

From experience, getting strong physically and mentally is empowering - so empowering that there’s a ripple effect into all aspects of your life 💎

Doctor comes from the latin word teacher - docēre, which means “to teach”.

I strive to truly educate my clients on how they can:

1. Get results while not sacrificing their health (metabolically, physically, or mentally) or their entire social life

2. Keep these results long term

3. Start focusing on ex*****on of the plan - because I make some of the big choices for them. This means they have more time and energy to focus on other important aspects of their life.

If you want to level up your physique, training, and overall health - let me help you make the right choices for you.

🤍

medicine

Blending the methods of body recomposition and naturopathic medicine allows you to have both your health and the physique you desire.

It’s also the best lifestyle and longevity focused preventive healthcare solution we have.

The educational and “coaching” component of healthcare is more important now than it ever was.

Why?!

Because there’s too much choice. Too many health buzzwords. Too many opinions. Too many fad diets. Too many unsustainable protocols that suggest will make you “lose weight” and be “healthier”.

There are even too many naturopathic doctors that promote living life in the extremes of ‘health’ just to get their patients to see the scale go down.

In a world of too much choice, there are also not enough simple solutions that focus on getting women elite physique results while maintaining optimal health.

You can make your system simple by eliminating choice.

If you’re ready to take your physique results, health, mindset and training sessions to the next level - the application to join has re-opened.

Let us help you get clear on exactly what you need to do to finally start getting results - for good!

Let us help you make the right choices for you.

The link to apply is in my bio. 🤍 We sincerely appreciate you being detailed in your application as not all applications are accepted.

Today is my late mother’s birthday, our second one without her here and I want to share a lesson she taught me (and continues to teach me) about dichotomy.

Let’s define it: Two things that are polar opposites, existing at the same time. Black/white, yin/yang, and proud/disappointed; it can  be helpful to recognize when dichotomy exists in your life - we can’t expect every present moment to always be rainbows and sunshine, because life isn’t always rainbows and sunshine. 

Recently, I’ve been working through a dichotomy of my own, growing my career and having success in my personal life, health, and close relationships all under the shadow of the death of my mother and the grief I hold missing her. It has forced me to hold space for two emotions at the same time, every day.

I have continued to experience joy at home, in my career, and living out my purpose - allowing myself to feel joyful in the present moment and excited for what the future holds.

Yet also sadness because I’m not able to share my experiences with her. It’s in these moments where I’m feeling the most gratitude for my life, I also feel immense guilt or grief.

Finding the relationship between GRIEF and JOY has illuminated other co-existing realities like fear/certainty, success/failure, apprehension/possibilities - these existing together are very common in our daily lives, especially when trying to start a new routine or practice.

This lesson of dichotomy continues to help me teach my clients/patients to learn to find comfort in the dichotomy of what their health and/or body recomposition journey looks like for them. Learning how to make space for the celebration of your wins while holding space for your losses is truly a beautiful thing.

I got this question: what is the healthiest oil to cook with?

It’s actually a great question and I had to think about it.

There isn’t one that can be deemed the absolute healthiest, you know? They all have different benefits - and some can change in terms of benefits when heated depending on its smoke point.

It’s kind of like potatoes. What’s healthier, sweet potatoes or white potatoes? Sweet potatoes have more vitamin A, but white potatoes have more potassium. Nutrition isn’t black and white… and this causes many to have differing opinions in this niche. I get it though. Sometimes it’s hard to form clear opinions on some topics around nutrition because there are so many factors that matter.

Metabolic function is more clear cut. How you can optimize it and treat it properly is a relatively simple system! Sometimes the details don’t matter as much as the ex*****on of the bigger picture.

I still encourage you to explore the details of nutrition to learn more about what works best for you, your brain, and your body, but be consistent with the system… because you can’t bio-hack your way out of science.