Sound to Summit Wellness

This is not normally the hill I publicly stand on, but thanks to a few recent events, here we are.

IT IS NOT OKAY THAT THESE THINGS STILL HAPPEN.

All of these events have happened to me. All of these things happen to women that you know on a DAILY BASIS. And you know what’s messed up? The worst part is that I feel GRATEFUL that this is the extent of harassment I’ve experienced recently.

It makes me sick that these things still happen, that people still defend them.

Men: Say something. Don’t want to feel uncomfortable or ostracized by your buddies? How you think it feels to feel uncomfortable 99% of the time you’re in a public place? And if you need a little encouragement, pretend it’s your wife/sister/daughter they’re talking about.

It is not enough to simply say “but I’m not that guy.” You have to be an active part in shutting down “that guy.”

Women: Say something. Be brave for 2.5 seconds and tell your friend/coworker/acquaintance/family member that their words and actions are not okay.

And for f**k’s sake, stop using the phrase “boys will be boys.”

I have many wonderful men in my life, but they are not all men. Every time I leave my house for a run or to walk to work I carry some sort of self-defense mechanism with me. I never wear more than one ear bud. I’m constantly looking over my shoulder to check my surroundings. I always text/tell someone where I’m going and when I’ll be back. I’d love to live in a world where I didn’t feel like those things were necessary. 😡😤

“It worked for me” is not a qualification for handing out nutrition advice.

For the record, neither is lean body type or celebrity status.

I used to say it: “I’ll show you exactly what I did in order to [insert health marker here]”.

It’s “relatable,” it’s seeing yourself in someone else’s story, liking where they’re at now, and asking “how’d you’d do it?”.

But “it worked for me,” a lean body type, or having a blue check does not = qualified.

“It worked for me” doesn’t mean that human put in the hours to get the education that it means to truly help make a difference in your life.

And even IF you ate the exact same thing and moved the exact same way, you wouldn’t look the same. Your results would not be the same.

Because we are all unique humans, and as such so should our approach to health be.

Sleep.
Stress.
Finances.
Career.
Family.
Friendships.
Past training.
History of dieting.
Food preferences.
Gym access.
Zip code.

This is just a short list of things that contribute to where are are, and how we’ll have to work and grow and change in order to get to where we want to be.

It’s why when I give my clients their target numbers, it has absolutely nothing to do with me. It has everything to do with them. Their bodies, their goals, their life circumstances.

It’s one thing to take inspiration from someone: to see them go from couch to 50K or to increase their squat or hit their goal weight or whatever. But inspiration shouldn’t lead to imitation.

You are uniquely you. Own that. Stop trying to look like/move like/live like “her,” and start chasing your best you instead.
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HOW NOT TO MAKE A GROCERY LIST EVER AGAIN:

Hehe, j/k.

You miiight still want to make a list.

But this trick will help ya simplify it!

Instead of sifting through cookbooks and Pinterest pages in search of recipes and making mile-long lists of obscure ingredients that you need to pick up, just go for the “rule of 3s.”

It’s simple, really!

All you gotta do is pick up three foods from each category:
🥞 carbs
🥩 protein
🥑 fat
🫑 veggies
🍇 fruit
🥫 sauces
🍪 fun

THEN, when you go to create your meals throughout the week, you just gotta mix-and-match!

Here’s how the rule of 3s could work for dinner:
🍚 Rice, chicken breast, zucchini, avocado, coconut aminos.
🍝 Pasta, beef, broccoli, olive oil, marinara.
🌮 Tortillas, ground turkey, bell peppers, cheese, salsa.

Take those same ingredients, and remix them into a couple lunches:
🌯 Tortilla, chicken breast, zucchini, cheese, coconut aminos.
🥗 Rice, beef, bell peppers, cheese, salsa.

And as always, add fruit and add fun. 🍒🍉🍌🍩🍬🍿

These lists are not exhaustive — they’re just the examples I happened to come up with today — so feel free to use it as a guide and inspiration as you make your way down the aisles and fill up your fridge, pantry, and belly! ♥️
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@ Port Angeles, Washington

Nothing about this run was easy.

The first run “back” never is.

I took a week off for travel, and before I knew it, one week became two, and two became three, and isn’t that just how life goes sometimes?

So there I was, plodding my way through the woods, periodically stopping to wonder if I even deserved to call myself a “trail runner.” If this whole journey was even worth it.

🤔 Maybe I should just stick to hiking, I wondered.

But the words of a wise human kept echoing through my mind:

👉🏼 Getting better at being bad is an awesome life skill. 👈🏼

Getting better at being bad...

What a freeing way to look at this mess.

Some days feel like trail magic, and some days feel like trash.

💡 But when you show up on the days that feel like trash, you earn points toward the magic.

If you’re like me and sometimes being a Type A holds you back from trying something new or sticking to things through the suck, flip the script.

Instead of trying to master whatever it is you’re going after,

Just try… being bad at it.

Show up every day with the goal of getting really really good at being bad at the thing.

See where it takes ya.

I’m hoping mine takes me to the top of Sandpoint, Idaho, in T-100 days. 🤘🏼🏃🏼‍♀️⛰
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*t

DID IT GET YOU RESULTS?

How many times have I been asked this, or heard this question asked.

How many times did I not think twice about answering, about what it really meant.

What people mean when they ask DID IT GET YOU RESULTS is:
Did you lose weight?
Did you drop a pant size?
Did you lose inches?

WHAT IF WE CHANGED THE NARRATIVE?

What if when we asked DID IT GET YOU RESULTS, we meant:
Did you get stronger?
Did you get faster?
Did it inspire you to do hard things?
Do you feel more comfortable in the body you’re in?
Do you have more energy?
Do you feel more capable?
Did you learn something new?
Do you feel inspired?
Do you feel more confident?
Do you feel braver?
Do you dream bigger now?

I don’t know about you, but those are the results I’d like to see.
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*t *t

You’re allowed to eat your favorite foods.
You’re allowed to eat bowls of real pasta.
You’re allowed to eat more than a toddler.
You’re allowed to eat carbs with sides of carbs.
You’re allowed to eat what fills you up.

One average sized zucchini is about 17 calories.
One average serving of pasta is 200 calories.

You know what you can do with that extra 183 calories?
Run down trails.
Climb up hills.
Play with your kids.
Ride bikes on Sunday.
BBQ with friends on Friday.
Go for a swim in the summer sun.
Feel energetic through the work day.
Go kayaking as the sun sets.
Try a new sport.
Go for an afternoon walk.
Live a good full life.

Zoodles aren’t bad.
Pretending they’re an acceptable supplement for pasta, is.
Swipe right for an appropriate use of zoodles.

Eat the pasta.
Use the extra energy to enjoy life. 🤘🏼
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@ Port Angeles, Washington

Everyone talks about getting “vacation ready” (which is a whole different convo for another day), but what about when you come home from vacation and you’re feeling a little sluggish and bloated and maybe the scale is up a few pounds?

What do we do then?

Do we go on a detox?
Vow to walk 15,000 steps/day for a week?
Start up a new fitness program?
Cut out all our favorite foods?

Or, do we:
Reflect on how much fun we had?
Feel grateful for our body and the ability to move and play on vacation and in life?
Remember the scale fluctuates with each day?
Slip right into the basics we know?

Travel, whether in the driver’s seat or passenger seat, on a plane or in a boat, and definitely if in a covered wagon, is inherently a stressor on the body.

With that, and with a lack of routine and nutrients we are used to, our bodies will naturally ebb and flow. You don’t need a detox or a new workout challenge, and you definitely don’t need to beat yourself up.

And although I HATE the term “getting back on track,” I used it here because it’s something I think a lot of people strive to do.

Nobody likes feeling run down or out-of-whack, so here are some simple things you can do to “get back on track,” or better put, to support the transition from travel to home:
💧 Drink lots of water
🚶🏼‍♀️ Go for a walk
🫑 Lick a vegetable
😴 Prioritize sleep
🌮 Prep some easy meals
♥️ Give yourself grace

Whatever you do, promise me you’ll give yourself some grace and for f**k’s sake do not let anyone talk you into a detox. That’s what your kidneys and liver are for. ♥️
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@ Port Angeles, Washington

IDK who needs to hear this tonight, but:
- It’s okay to eat a “big breakfast”
- It’s okay to eat a snack (or two or three!) between breakfast and lunch
- You don’t have to chug down some low-cal high-fiber shake that tastes like grass for breakfast just so it will “hold you over” until lunch

Normalize 👏🏼 Eating 👏🏼 Enough and definitely Normalize 👏🏼 Snacks ♥️
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What “works” for me might not “work” for you.

I think a lot of times, we are sold or buy into fitness plans and meal plans because “it worked” for someone else. You know what I’m talking about: you hop on the latest diet trend because “it worked so well for Sally!”.

But in doing so, we fail to honor our own unique bodies, goals, paths, and preferences.

I put what “works” in quotations because I think that typically as a society we define what “works” by how much weight a person lost.

I’d like to define it a lot more broadly.
What works for our schedule, our meal prep preferences, the fitness goals we have, how we want to feel in our skin, the food preferences we have, who else we’re feeding, our culture, our job, our budget?
What works in terms of what feels good, what helps us set bad ass goals, and work towards reaching them?
There is so much more that goes into food and the shape of our bodies than just what’s on the plate in front of us.

Maybe you don’t have an hour to spend in the gym like I do.
Maybe you love spending an hour in the kitchen like I don’t.
Maybe you want to run strongly through the mountains like I do.
Maybe you have a Whole Foods around the corner like I don’t.
Maybe you have a full-time job like I do.
Maybe you have a full house to feed like I don’t.

It’s okay to draw inspiration from others, but let it stop there. Trying to copy everything another person does though? Not worth your time or energy. Because they aren’t you. And that’s the beautiful thing about being one in seven billion. ♥️
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Life got a lot more fun when I stopped chasing less and started realizing that I deserved more.

More sleep.
More food.
More strength.
More dreams.

Women are fed weight loss plans for all kinds of big events in their lives: graduations, weddings, honeymoons, vacations, and post-partum.

Instead of focusing on the joy that these events bring, we’re told we should be , getting ready, or “getting our body back” after baby.

We cut out carbs and we cut out cake and we cut out champagne and just continually focus on getting smaller, smaller, smaller.

We literally spend a good chunk of our lives trying to lose.

Let that sink in for a moment. How much of your life have you spent trying to lose?

Imagine what we could accomplish, individually and collectively, if we said f**k that, and instead starting focusing on winning? On chasing big dreams, getting stronger, and accomplishing badass s**t? What if we got stronger, faster, more energetic, and then used that strength to build our dreams, and in turn help other women build theirs?

Imagine the ripple effect we could have. Imagine the kind of world that would be. A pretty rad one, if you ask me. ✨
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*t

Hands up if you have a tendency to want to go “all in” on things.

I know I did/do: Whether it’s a new fitness objective, the perfect morning routine, nailing my macros every day, hitting those 10K steps no matter what, or writing in my journal every night, I naturally lean towards wanting to do “all or nothing,” “perfection or bust.”

And while I think there’s something to be said for the discipline and the grit it takes to follow through like that, I’m more interested in what it takes to make s**t happen when things are messy.

I’m more interested in how humans keep going when things aren’t perfect.
… in how we fail, pick ourselves up, and still move forward.
And in the resiliency it takes to stay committed to the process, however messy it may get.

Looking back on my life, I see a lot of times where I quit because I couldn’t be perfect. Knowing what I know now, that’s a hard pill to swallow.

But I move forward more proud of the woman I am today, and how she shows up, rolls with the punches, and gets s**t done — even when it look far from textbook.

Crazy day at work messing up my macros? Not a big deal, I know I can still find little ways to sneak in water, prioritize protein, and lick a veggie or two.

Feeling the need to sleep in rather than get up and sweat? No worries, I recognize that sleep is arguably the most important piece of the whole damn puzzle. The workout can wait.

Missed a few days of journaling? That’s okay, pick it up now with a sentence or two.

My challenge to you: the next time you feel like you need to go “all in” on something, pause for a second. Ask yourself what the end goal really is and why.

And then, wake up every day and promise to do the best you can with what’s thrown you way. In the end, that’s all that really matters: making magic from the mess.
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*t

You know what really pi**es me off?

Aside from slow left-laners…

The fact that “approved vs. avoid” and “good vs. bad” food lists exist. And how every time I google “chocolate chip cookie recipe,” one comes up for a “healthy” version.

Y’ALL IF I’M GONNA SPEND AN HOUR BAKING COOKIES, THERE DAMN WELL BETTER BE A POUND EACH OF WHITE SUGAR AND REAL BUTTER IN THEM.

Swipe right for a short and incomplete list of foods that you do not have to avoid, feel guilty for, or try and “make healthy versions” of.

Literally every single one of these foods has at one time in my life been labeled as “bad” — something to avoid altogether, enjoy ONLY as a “treat”, or only eat if “made healthier.”

But once I stopped looking at these foods as “bad” or “treats,” I started to enjoy them more. I stopped craving them. I started to see how these things were a) not bad, and b) happy parts of a healthy diet.

PRO TIP: Once you stop labeling foods as “good” and “bad” — once you take away their moral value — you stop craving them. You stop hoarding and bingeing them. You start to feel what it feels like to eat a cookie or two and walk away happily, instead of feeling like you need to inhale the entire plate because you’re never get a chance to eat cookies again.

It’s a process — a long process — I still have to remind myself sometimes that apples are not bad for me (WTF?! What happened to “an apple a day keeps the doctor away?), but every day it gets easier. Every day I feel a little more free from the idea that BANANAS of all things are bad for my health.

Eat the damn cookie.
Enjoy a slice of pizza.
Make waffles for breakfast.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.
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*t @ Port Angeles, Washington

Sound to Summit Wellness updated their website address.

You want me to eat HOW MUCH protein?!

That’s what I thought the first time I worked with a coach and she wanted me to work my way up to basically doubling my protein intake.

It seemed crazy to me at the time, but now I realize that those growing baby biceps of mine need the fuel to well, grow.

Enter: trying to figure out how to increase my protein intake without feeling like I was stuffing my face with burgers and chicken breast all day.

What I learned? It takes a little effort but it’s actually not THAT hard.

Swipe on through for a few key points, also highlighted here:
- Like all big goals, break it up into smaller ones (i.e. have a protein goal for meals and snacks).
- You don’t need to weigh your food and use a tracking app if that ain’t your thing. Turns out your palm is a pretty good estimator.
- A protein shake a day goes a long way.
- Bagels + peanut butter = solid protein source.
- Start small. Add a couple extra bites of chicken to your salad, or swap regular yogurt for Greek yogurt. BABY STEPS WIN THE DAY.

And remember: the goal here isn’t to be perfect. It isn’t to stress ourselves out over nailing the numbers every day. Nope.

The goal is to give our bodies the energy it needs to dream big dreams and have the energy to live them out. 🤙🏼⛰
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*t *t @ Port Angeles, Washington

I sent this little reminder to my email list this morning, but I figured the rest of you deserved to hear it, too. ♥️

Happy weekend, friends. Get out there and do something that gives you butterflies. ⛰

There’s nothing quite like coming home from what should’ve been a 12-hour shift but actually turned into a 14-hour shift and opening your fridge to find that there’s literally nothing in there that you can “heat and eat.”

YA FEEL ME?!

On today’s edition of “how-to-make-your-life-easier-as-a-nurse,” we have PRODUCE PREP, one of my all-time favorite forms of “meal prep.”

Here’s how it works:
🛒 Go to the grocery store.

Purchase the following:
🫑 A couple snackable veggies (grape tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers, snap peas)
🥦 A couple cookable veggies (broccoli, zucchini, asparagus, green beans)
🫐 A couple fruits (strawbs, bluebs, cuties, apples)

🗝 Take them home and IMMEDIATELY wash and chop them. Do not put them in the fridge and kick your feet up on the couch “for a few minutes.”

🔪 Chop them all up and put in them in stackable tupperware containers and THEN you can put them in the fridge.

🥕 When you’re getting ready for said shift, throw 2–3 of the snackable veggies into a to-go dish (my favorites for work are bell peppers and carrots).

🍓 While you’re doing that, add a handful of fruit to your breakfast (strawbs and Greek yogurt, bluebs and oatmeal, apple with peanut butter).

🧅 When you get home from work, take 1–2 cups of the cookable veggies, toss them in a teaspoon or two of olive oil and throw them onto a sheet pan (preferably covered with aluminum foil or parchment paper for easy clean up).

🧄 Sprinkle some garlic powder, salt, and pepper on them, and roast them at 400º for about 20 minutes.

🛋 THEN you can kick your feet up on the couch and scroll IG, smiling knowing that even in the midst of a crazy schedule, you still crushed some produce and gave your body a little support in getting through those crazy shifts. 🙌🏼

Was this helpful? Double tap to ♥️ and SAVE it for the future reference.
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@ Port Angeles, Washington

It doesn’t have to be hard.

You don’t have to cut out your favorite foods.
You don’t have to stop eating pasta + bagels.
You don’t have to kill yourself at the gym.
You don’t have to overall all of your habits.
You don’t have to walk 10,000 steps every day.
You don’t have to be hangry and stressed.
You don’t have to buy fat burning pills.
You don’t have to do shots of apple cider vinegar.
You don’t have to be so sore that you can’t stand up off the toilet.
You don’t have to be dripping in sweat with every workout.

It doesn’t have to be that hard.

Eat one more serving of veggies today.
Walk 100 steps further than you did yesterday.
Write down one thing you’re grateful for.
Do a few push-ups.
Start your day with one glass of water.
Listen to an inspiring podcast.
Read a few pages in a good book.
Research a new hike in your area.
Search for your dream job on Google.

Pick one.
Start small.
Start easy.
Keep going.

You can choose your hard later.

When you’re just getting started, let it be easy.

Big things happen in the accumulation of small moments.
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THIS TOOK ME 10 MINUTES TO MAKE.

1. Boil water and add pasta. Cook according to directions.
2. While that’s cooking, add avocado oil, diced garlic (pro tip: buy the frozen garlic pods), and shallots to a pan over medium heat.
3. Stir those until fragrant, without burning.
4. Next, add chopped zucchini and sliced grape tomato (about 1/2 cup each).
5. Continuing stirring all that until the zucchini is soft and the grape tomatoes begin letting their juices out.
6. Add one sliced up chicken sausage (I prefer the Italian chicken ones).
7. Stir until heated through.
8. Drain pasta.
9. Combine it all, add salt to taste, and parmesan if you’d like.
10. ENJOY.

HINT: IT AIN’T OPTION “B”.

If I see one more “health coach” bragging about how “it’s a rest day on my calendar so I’m gonna (go for a run/do this workout instead),” I WILL LOSE MY S**T.

Rest day means REST.

Rest day means DON’T STRESS YOUR BODY.

Rest day means SIT THE F**K DOWN ON THE COUCH.

Rest day means if you must move, WALK BUT DO NOT RUN.

Rest days matter.

Our bodies need rest.

Your program is designed with a rest day because you need a rest day.

“bUt It’S aCtIvE rEcOvErY.”

NO.

It’s stressing your body instead of allowing it to rebuild, repair, and REST.

Take your f**king rest days.

Binge the entire season 1 of Virgin River.
Take your doggo on a walk.
Lick a vegetable and enjoy some chocolate.
Prep your meals for the week.
Call a friend.
Read a book.
Do some journaling.
Take up needlepoint.
Unfollow anyone who works out on rest day and makes you feel like you have to, too.

But for f**k’s sake DO NOT WORKOUT.

Rest. Rest. Rest.

I don’t know about you but there are a few things I hate more in the world than eating a wilting salad in the dead of winter.

Throw a grilled steak over a bed of romaine and then drizzle it with balsamic in the summer and we have an entirely different story.

But in the winter when it’s cold and gray? No thanks. I’ll pass on the salad bar.

Unfortunately it turns out that you need veggies ALL YEAR LONG, but the good news it that you don’t have to force down salads when it’s 32° and precipitating sideways.

Learn from me and find other ways to crush your veggie intake without choking down kale and chard.

But HOW?!

Well, for starters, a good goal to aim for is 400–500 grams of veggies per day.

CAVEAT: If you’re at a point where you’re barely licking a veggie, aim for 100 grams. Do that daily for a week and then bump up to 150 grams, 200 grams, and so forth.

If you swipe right, you’ll see some examples of what your average veggies are gram-wise. I’ve also included a few of my favorite veggie recipes, as well as ways to sneak them into things you may already love (like smoothies, pasta, and frittatas).

BONUS POINTS: A lot of the veggies listed are pretty “hardy,” and would be great to bring for ! I love taking a container of bell peppers, cukes, tomatoes, and snap peas to munch on between med passes and IV starts.

K, YOU KNOW THE DRILL. Save this if it was helpful so that you can return to these recipes and ideas when you’re throwing out yet another bushel of greens that you naively bought thinking you’d use to make one of those “winter salads” off Pinterest.

@ Port Angeles, Washington