[00:00:00] Leah: One of the things that I really want to accomplish with the Balancing Busy podcast is just simplifying. The areas of our lives. That’s not really one thing. That’s a lot of things, but that’s really the goal is our lives are full. They are busy, not busy in a run, run, run on a treadmill kind of way, but busy in a, there’s so much good in our lives that we want to be able to do.

[00:00:22] Leah: And we want the space to be able to do it. And one of those things that really helps us is when our health is dialed in, is when we’re doing those things for our nutrition, we’re moving our bodies and exercising and, you know, it’s. Really great when you feel good, both you feel good because you like what you see when you look in the mirror and you feel good because you’re taking care of your body.

[00:00:44] Leah: Well, today, my goal for this episode is to simplify taking care of our bodies. And I’m really excited because I have my friend, Jen Lohner as our guest today. Now, Jen is a certified personal trainer, a nutrition coach, and she’s. super passionate about health and fitness and feeling the best versions of ourselves.

[00:01:06] Leah: And what I love is that Jen loves helping women realize their goals and their possibilities, but she’s really clear that it takes mindset shifts, discipline, hard work, and she coaches women and helps them get there. In a world where we are constantly Trying to be convinced that there is an easy button that’s going to solve all our problems.

[00:01:29] Leah: And then we think we’re the ones that are broken. We think something’s wrong with us when that easy button doesn’t work. I love that Jen is up front about like, hey, it’s going to take discipline. It’s going to take hard work. You’re going to have to commit and show up and all the things. You can get results.

[00:01:45] Leah: It’s not impossible. I love that. So today I want to talk to her about macros. I want to talk to her about how long you actually have to work out. Like, can 30 minutes. Let’s do the job, talk about all those things. She has personally helped me, uh, when I was doing macro counting and she is the person that I go to every time I have these questions.

[00:02:07] Leah: So I’m excited for you to get to just get some of her knowledge too. So let’s jump in to this episode.

[00:02:30] Jen, it is so good to have you on the podcast today. Thank you so much 

[00:02:50] Jen: for joining me. Yay! Thank you for having me. I’m happy to be here. Oh, me 

[00:02:56] Leah: too. I’m excited because, you know, we’re still early in the year, and you know everybody had these Health goals and fitness goals and isn’t it by like the first or second week of February most people are like Done, they’ve like dropped off.

[00:03:13] Leah: It’s all over. 

[00:03:15] Jen: Oh, yeah. I actually did a poll on my Instagram Just I think it was two days ago Asking if people were still working on their health goals and like 25 percent had said no Yeah

[00:03:31] Leah: They’re already dropping off and these are people who actually follow like, uh, a nutritionist and like, uh, a fitness coach. So funny. Okay. So my goal for us is to simplify keeping our fitness goals happening. Like that’s what I’m so excited for you to help with. And I feel like this is something you’re amazing with.

[00:03:52] Leah: I mean, you’ve been coaching me and helping me for gosh, like years, but really heavily in the last. year, year and a half, and it has been amazing. I definitely have felt like, Oh, okay, I can do this. Where before it felt so daunting and intimidating. And I always felt like there’s too many other things I have to do.

[00:04:14] Leah: That cannot be one of them. And now it actually feels like, oh, this this can be one of them also. So will you just start by talking to us? Like, why why do we need to focus on our health? And what are the key? areas of our health that are going to, like, give us, I guess, kind of, like, the biggest bang for our buck?

[00:04:33] Jen: Yeah. Yeah. So, definitely, I mean, obviously, as we start to age and get older, like, health becomes more and more and more important. So, that is just, obviously, one of the biggest reasons we start to lose muscle mass the older we get. We start to gain weight every year. So, if we can, the younger we are, get into that habit, create that habit of eating healthy, exercising every day, just the better off you’ll be.

[00:05:00] Jen: You know, I mean, obviously you prevent so many injuries as well as you age from being healthy. So that’s just one of like the main biggest reasons, um, as to why, you know, why health is so important and why every year people have all these health goals. Um, but in reality, it does. It’s, you know, it gets hard trying to stick to goals when life is so busy, life happens.

[00:05:27] Jen: So trying to kind of simplify it, and I love your podcast for that reason, simplifying is kind of where I feel like I’ve thrived when it came to fitness and, uh, eating healthy. That’s another thing that I think a lot of people really struggle with, but simplifying is going to be one of the easiest ways to help you.

[00:05:49] Jen: Make it successful and stick with it long 

[00:05:52] Leah: term. I love that. Okay, so let’s break this down into simplifying those two areas, working out, exercising, and then our health. And it was so funny when you said, you know, as we get older, we gain weight. That was literally why I came to you. I don’t even know if you remember that, but like I came to you cause I was like, okay, Every year I’m noticing that I’m like going up a couple pounds, but if I stay on this trajectory, you know, you give me a decade, a decade and a half, and I’m going to be like, Oh no, what has happened?

[00:06:21] Leah: Right. Because like that compounding is not going to be a good thing over time. So, uh, it’s so funny that you said that. Cause I’m like, yeah, that is actually, you know, I’m now in my forties. And I was like. I don’t bounce back the way I used to and I can’t eat anything I want anymore. And I got to be more intentional and, but I had those bad habits.

[00:06:43] Leah: Right. And I love that you talk about that. Like one of the first things you say is like, okay, you’re going to have to shift. Your mindset first. So let’s first talk about exercise. I think one of the things I, I know I’ve asked you, so I’m going to let you answer for everyone else is like, what’s the right amount?

[00:06:59] Leah: Because I think sometimes we feel like, oh my gosh, I have to work out an hour a day and I have to burn so many calories. And I, I don’t know, it just, it feels so big and daunting. And when you already have so much on your plate to carve out. That time, it can just feel like it’s just too much. So what’s, what’s the reality?

[00:07:17] Jen: Yes, I love this question because that is probably one of the biggest areas that cause people to fail is having the all or nothing mindset. And that all or nothing mindset is that mindset of we have to, yeah, it’s not a good workout unless I’m dripping in sweat, burning a thousand calories, and working out for hours a day.

[00:07:39] Jen: And that mentality is so false. That’s not necessary. I don’t even work out every single day. I probably take at least two days off a week. But even then, my workouts aren’t hours long, I’m not tracking my calories, I’m not making sure I’m dripping in sweat. Like, that is so false. You don’t need that. You really truly need to be smarter, work smarter instead of harder.

[00:08:03] Jen: Um, so that kind of same mentality is, you know, business or anything else. Um, and it’s just working towards your goals and finding what your goals are and working more effectively to achieve those goals. And it just depends on what those goals are, right? So if you’re training for a marathon, obviously you’re gonna have to spend more hours running.

[00:08:22] Jen: Whereas, if you’re trying to change your body composition, you need to spend more time lifting weights and focusing on your nutrition, right? So there’s different goals depending on what that is, but that all or nothing mentality will hold you back. And that is one of the biggest things that I try to get people out of is that you do not need to be going to the gym, spending hours dripping in sweat.

[00:08:44] Jen: That’s not. going to help you. We need to really get clear on what it is your goals are. And then we need to work towards and make sure that everything we’re doing is very specific about what our goal is. 

[00:08:57] Leah: I think for most of us, we can really bring it down to one of two goals. Either goal one is we’d like to shift the composition of our body. We want everything to be a little tighter, drop a few pounds, all that kind of stuff. Or we’re starting to feel achy and tired all the time, and we want more energy.

[00:09:15] Leah: And I guess the third is that it’s a combination of those both. But do you tackle each of those problems differently? Is losing weight different from even maybe body composition? Or are those kind of the same? And going for energy, is that need to be something different? How should we look at each of these different goals?

[00:09:35] Jen: Yeah, um, it’s, it can get tricky because there is for sure a lot of Uh, mixing, intertwined, um, for sure if losing weight is kind of the main goal, I would say focus more on your nutrition, being in a calorie deficit, and then working out, you want to up your cardio. Now, I hate saying that because I don’t want people to get in that mindset of cardio, cardio, cardio.

[00:10:01] Jen: No. You need lifting with cardio. You need both. Yes, you need cardio, but you should still do some weightlifting. Body composition, the best way to change body composition is heavy lifting. So that would be my recommendation if your goal is to change your body composition. Now, energy, that’s something that’s kind of like an overall health.

[00:10:27] Jen: And I would say for that, you want a little bit of everything. You want to try to focus on eating healthy. You want to just move your body. You want to make sure you’re stretching. There’s kind of a lot of things that go into that. So it’s, it’s really tricky, but overall health, um, should be everyone’s goal.

[00:10:47] Jen: But yes, you can get more specific if there is something that you want to change about your body.

[00:10:54] Leah: Okay. For the person and, you know, I’m asking for a friend, um, who is like, look, I have 30 minutes a day. Okay. I don’t have more than 30 minutes. Can they get the results they want? Can they make gains? Or are you like, yeah, but it’s just going to take you way longer.

[00:11:11] Leah: Like what’s, what’s the timing? 

[00:11:15] Jen: No, absolutely. At 30 minutes is plenty of time to get in a good workout. Um, part of the problem with most people is they don’t have a plan. They don’t have any type of schedule that they’re following. They don’t know exactly what they’re doing, so a lot of time is actually wasted when you get to the gym.

[00:11:33] Jen: If you know exactly what it is you’re doing, you show up, you get in, you get it done, you can get a really great workout in, in 30 minutes. So, yes, absolutely. 30 minutes is plenty of time. I highly recommend following a plan and having a schedule. 

[00:11:51] Leah: What is our best way to figure out the right plan for us? I mean, I’m just gonna say, like, they should just reach out to you because you are brilliant at this, but, um, what, like, how do we figure out that plan? 

[00:12:04] Jen: Again, it depends, like, what your goals are, but If the goal is body composition, if you’re trying to do any type of strength workout, I would for sure follow an actual plan. There’s a million out there of people who sell plans. You don’t want to just do random workouts on, on Instagram. Um, I know it’s fun and sometimes it’s nice to like mix it up, but I promise you if you actually stick to a plan, you will see better results because most plans focus on hypertrophy and progressive overload, which is.

[00:12:36] Jen: Breaking down the muscle and increasing in weight every week or other, every other week. However, the plan is kind of set up, and it doesn’t always have to be just increasing weight. There’s other ways to get gains. You know, you can increase your reps, you can increase your time under tension. There’s so many ways other than just increasing weight every week.

[00:12:57] Jen: But if you follow a plan, somebody who is, you know, a certified. Personal trainer, somebody who knows what they’re doing, then they will have that set up for you to where you don’t have to be guessing every single week when you’re getting at the gym. And I highly recommend doing muscle splits. So I recommend breaking it into, you know, a leg day, an arm day.

[00:13:20] Jen: Um, and you can break it down even more specific where it’s like a glute day, a quad day, a shoulder day, a back and by day. That way you’re really focusing, hyper focusing and isolating one muscle at a time. And that way you can really break down and, that muscle and get it so it’s super fatigued and hit that point of failure and then you 

[00:13:42] Leah: can build it back up.

[00:13:43] Leah: Okay, so what I’m hearing is, number one, you need to know what you want. You’ve got to know the goal. Number two, you need to have a real plan and not, uh, just be kind of maybe like jumping from thing to thing. Consistency is critical, but in that it doesn’t have to be an insane amount of time or intensity.

[00:14:03] Leah: It can be 30 minutes as long as you know exactly what you’re going in to do and you’re focused for those 30 minutes. 

[00:14:12] Jen: I think consistency is. It’s for sure key, um, making sure that you have a plan, making sure that, I mean, as long as you’re intentional with your workouts, um, one of my favorite things that I definitely recommend people do, um, if that 30 minutes is all they have is getting on a treadmill, walking at an incline.

[00:14:35] Jen: I will just put my treadmill up as high as you can, walking at an incline. for 30 minutes. That’s all you need. And putting it up to like a four speed. The goal there is to try to keep your heart rate between like 145 and 155. So if you have a watch or heart rate monitor wearing that to track that. And the idea is that will just burn fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates.

[00:15:00] Jen: And that really will target it. So, again, it takes away that mindset of the all or nothing. It’s not super crazy intense. It’s not like you’re going out and running on a treadmill for 30 minutes. You’re not killing yourself, but you’re staying at a consistent speed for 30 minutes. And your results will be amazing.

[00:15:21] Jen: So 30 minutes is plenty to get in 

[00:15:25] Leah: a good workout. I love that you brought up the, um, zone two training. And for anyone who’s, the reason I call it zone two is because if you’re wearing an Apple watch, you can swipe up on your watch, depending on some of the workouts. But like. Um, if you’re on a treadmill and, or an elliptical or something like that, and you can see which, which zone your heart rate is in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

[00:15:48] Leah: And the idea is that you’re trying to keep it in the zone 2 block. And in times, especially when I’ve been like stressed and I’ve had a lot, that has been Therapeutic for me to be able to just, I have listened to you and I’ve been like, okay, I’m doing this. And I, and I remember checking with you, like, is this going to work?

[00:16:10] Leah: You’re like, yes, yes, do this. And. And for me getting on an elliptical, putting the resistance as high as I could make it, getting into that zone too, and just being on there for 30 minutes and I’m listening to something motivational or I’m watching a training I’ve been really wanting to watch or I’m watching some TV show that’s just indulgent and fun.

[00:16:29] Leah: And it felt, it did, it felt therapeutic. And I love that you shared that and talked about how like you really can get great results walking on a treadmill. for 30 minutes. It’s just honestly for me, like, that’s the kind of stuff I need where I’m like, Oh, I can do that. Okay. Okay. That I can, I can get behind.

[00:16:51] Jen: And what’s so great about it is you’re literally, you could kill two birds with one stone there. I, a lot of times will be walking on the treadmill and like answering, catching up on emails or text messages or, you know, whatever it is, like, I can be doing that while I’m walking. So that is one of the reasons why I love The zone to training to is for that reason.

[00:17:10] Jen: Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s not easy. Like I still am dripping in sweat when I do this, but it’s easy enough to where I can still be on my phone and doing other things and also be killing, getting a good workout. So. Yeah, you can still 

[00:17:26] Leah: be having a Marco Polo conversation. I mean, you might, you know, be like, whew, but you can still absolutely be having a conversation and, okay. So let’s shift and let’s talk about the eating component, the nutrition component. So kind of talk us through the very basics, the beginning of, of honing in on our nutrition.

[00:17:46] Jen: Yes. So macros, if you haven’t heard of macros, you know, all food has three macros in it. There’s fats, there’s proteins, there’s carbs.

[00:17:55] Jen: Um, and basically macros and tracking macros is just all about finding the right balance of those three macro nutrients for your body. And it again depends on your goals. Obviously high protein is going to help you build more muscle and have more of that lean kind of look that people want, um, versus eating high carbs or high fat.

[00:18:20] Jen: Um, so that is definitely gonna change the way you look quicker than anything else. Obviously, lifting exercise is huge, but I know you’ve heard this before. You know, it’s 80 percent the kitchen, 20 percent working out. Like really abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym. Yes, you need both. But if you can focus on only one, I always tell my clients focus first on your nutrition and get that dialed in and then you can start adding in the exercise 

[00:18:54] Leah: So how do we simplify the nutrition part of it? Because that can feel so daunting. 

[00:19:01] Jen: It is very daunting and it is interesting. I feel like so many of my clients, that’s what they’re looking for is just how do I Make us easier. And I think in our society, so many people get caught up in like, you know, cooking that we have to have these like fancy meals or that it has to be like over the top when in reality, if we take it back down to like simple, almost kind of boring nutrition, that’s going to be the easiest way, uh, make it easy, make it repetitious.

[00:19:38] Jen: easiest ways to focus on your nutrition is just eat a lot of the same things. That way you know you’re getting the right macronutrients, you know exactly what you’re eating, and you don’t have to like, guess. For example, if you’re eating, you know, you’re making these crazy meals with a ton of different ingredients in it, or you’re eating out a lot, it’s just hard to know exactly what you’re putting into your body.

[00:20:00] Jen: Versus just make it simple and just say, Hey, okay, I’m just doing a couple ingredients. I’m just simplifying it that way, and then you can, it makes it so much easier to track and then so much easier to really know exactly what it is that you’re putting into your body. And that is the key to the counting and tracking macros is how do you know what you’re doing, like where your body’s at if we don’t actually know everything that we’re putting into it, right?

[00:20:30] Jen: Like you have to track and. Have a pretty good idea of what type of things are putting into our body before you can, like, really make lifestyle changes when it comes to health and fitness. So, I highly recommend everyone at some point at least just learn how to track. That way you can get in the habit and understand what proper portion sizes are, what macronutrients are, what Combinations of macros your body needs, there’s so much that goes into it, but really isn’t that overwhelming once you just start simplifying and eating, like, good, nutritious, healthy food.

[00:21:10] Leah: I love that. So I went to you and I was like, okay, I want you to tell me exactly what my macros should be. And that was really helpful because I had actually done my macros myself. I, you know, Watched a bunch of YouTube training, YouTube videos, tried to figure it out. But I was like, but I’m not sure. Right?

[00:21:30] Leah: Like I needed that validation. And so it was really powerful to say, okay, I want you to tell me what you think I should be doing. And it was great. You know, you got some information from me and you came back and you’re like, okay, based on this, this, and this, this is your calorie count. This is how it should be divided by macro.

[00:21:46] Leah: So how many, uh, fats versus protein versus carbs. And then I remember one thing you told me that I really loved was. And then see how you feel and we will adjust. You know, if I feel like, Oh, I’m feeling sluggish, maybe I need more fats and less carbs, or if I’m feeling, you know, something else, maybe I need to adjust the other way.

[00:22:09] Leah: And so that was really, that wasn’t something that I had thought of or had realized, and I’ve now realized I do much better on more fats. I have less brain fog and more clarity and just all those things are, are better when I have more fats in my diet. So I really try to. Give myself the room for that. So that has been really, really helpful for me.

[00:22:33] Leah: And then once I started the counting, um, I think most people have heard of the app MyFitnessPal, but that one is amazing. I know it’s what you use and recommend too. For being able to track the macros and then as far as what you shared about repetition, I think that is one of the biggest keys to simplifying this so that you can be successful is that you just got to be okay having some things that you eat the same.

[00:23:03] Leah: And what I realized was I didn’t want to have the same. just for me personally, I wanted to have different dinners, and I wanted to be able to have a little more room. So I did have a lot of days. I would have the exact same breakfast, same snack, same lunch. All of those were the same. And that way I had it dialed in.

[00:23:19] Leah: I knew exactly where I was at, and then I could, um, you know, shift with dinner. So how, how do you do that? Kind of the same, or is there any differences? 

[00:23:31] Jen: Yes, no. Repetition is. really, truly the easiest way to do it. Um, I eat the same breakfast, I kind of get on a kick and I’ll eat the same breakfast and lunch for like a year.

[00:23:42] Jen: I love that it’s a year. 

[00:23:45] Leah: I’m like for a month or for like a couple of weeks. You’re like for a year. 

[00:23:51] Jen: No, I’m like for a year, like really, truly. And there’ll be slight variations. Like I do eggs every single morning and egg whites. But I’ll do, sometimes I’ll do it with toast, sometimes I’ll do it in like an egg burrito, sometimes I’ll just do salsa on it.

[00:24:05] Jen: So it’s like, slight variations, sometimes it’s an omelette, but like it’s still, I just do eggs and Canadian bacon every single morning. So get, make sure that I’m getting super high protein and still getting carbs with, you know, my My bread or my tortilla. And then I do cheese and some avocado. So I’m getting a well balanced of all the macronutrients in that one mil, but then that way too, when you go to track, if you’re tracking, um, then, you know, okay, I just have this every single day.

[00:24:39] Jen: It’s easy. The greens are pretty much the same. Occasionally it’ll vary a little bit, but then I just know and make sure I can hit my protein because I hit 

[00:24:49] Leah: And that’s probably one of the biggest things is really focusing on protein consumption, right? Like one of the biggest things about macro counting is like the, the, the, when you look at your macros and the way they’re going to divide, it’s going to be.

[00:25:04] Leah: The heaviest weight is going to be on protein, getting protein. And you start learning what foods are super high protein and low in everything else. And you’re like, I want more of that so that, you know, your numbers work out correctly. Um, you know, cause I’ve shared with you, for me, seafoods, I know I can get massive protein with very little of.

[00:25:25] Leah: anything else when I’m eating crab and shrimp and I love those things. So that’s like a huge part of my diet. And I will literally have like, especially, um, when I’m really focused on my nutrition. I know this is funny, but I have crab almost every day for lunch. It’s my favorite. I mean, I love it. So that makes me so happy.

[00:25:46] Leah: And it’s so easy for that counting, like you were talking about. So, so, okay. So, um. You, you figure out your macros, you have a way to track it, and I don’t know that anyone needs to track it indefinitely forever, right? It’s, a huge part of it is just the education of learning what you’re actually eating, and what it’s made of, right?

[00:26:12] Jen: Absolutely, yeah, I always tell my clients, and it is not healthy to be in like a cut for a long period of time, so basically, you know, you’ll get like a set of macros, and And even if you’re not, like if you, you can set your macros to be in a maintenance mode or even in a muscle gain where you’d actually be eating in a surplus so that you can gain muscle.

[00:26:31] Jen: You can manipulate your numbers however your goals are. Again, right? It depends on what your goals are. But say your goals are to lose weight and you’re in a cut, which means you’re in a calorie deficit. If you’re in a calorie deficit, you don’t want to be in that calorie deficit. I recommend for like three to four months, because honestly, your body, it can mess with your hormones, your metabolism, it’s not good to be under eating indefinitely.

[00:26:55] Jen: So, yes, go into a cut, and then you can put, bump up your calories back up to maintenance. And, like you said before, it is such a game of like, trial and error, even though there is science to it. Everyone’s bodies are so different, and where they, what works for them doesn’t always work for other people. And the best way to do it is just trial and error.

[00:27:17] Jen: So I’ll put somebody in a cut, and we’ll give them a set of macros, and say they’re like really consistent, and like, Um, you know, maybe only lost a little bit of weight and then they kind of plateau. Then I might lower them down just a little bit more. But then after that three to four, you know, month timeframe, I’ll put them back up into like a maintenance calorie where you’re at and the way you could tell if you’re maintenance.

[00:27:41] Jen: is if you’re not losing, but you’re not gaining, you’re just staying kind of consistent. And that’s kind of where your body is at maintenance. So that means that your body, all the calories you’re consuming is what your body needs 

[00:27:54] Leah: to live off of. What about those of us who are fluctuating all the time?

[00:27:59] Leah: Like is that just how it is when you’re fluctuating? I mean like five pounds just all the time. 

[00:28:09] Jen: Fluctuations are normal. Weight, weight gain and weight loss is never linear. It’s always gonna be like a roller coaster. You’re always gonna be up and down. Um, but you should be able to find kind of a base where you’re like, this is like my normal.

[00:28:24] Jen: Yes, I might fluctuate a pound or two up or a pound or two down, but this is where I’m kind of like, this is my normal. And the best way to track that too is, I know a lot of people are like, ditch the scale, you don’t need the scale. I think you need the scale because it is such valuable information. Do we obsess over it?

[00:28:43] Jen: No, I don’t want you to obsess over the scale. But the scale does provide you with information. And so it is helpful to weigh yourself. I don’t think you necessarily need to do it every day. But if you’re trying to find that spot where you’re like, Where am I? Where is my maintenance? I would weigh yourself in the morning, the same time, kind of every Maybe every other day or every third day.

[00:29:05] Jen: You don’t necessarily need to do it every single day, but that way you do get a pretty good idea of where you actually 

[00:29:12] Leah: are. Oh, this has been so helpful. Thank you so much for joining us today. Tell everybody where they can find you. 

[00:29:20] Jen: Yeah, so my Instagram handle is just Jen Lohner, J E N L O H N E R. And, um You can just find me there.

[00:29:29] Jen: I share tons of tips about fitness, health, nutrition, macros. I do online coaching, personal training. All the things. 

[00:29:39] Leah: And we’ll have links right in the notes where, whatever platform you’re on, you can just go down into the notes. There’ll be a link right to Jen’s Instagram.

[00:29:47] Leah: You can DM her and reach out that way. She’s got some great workouts in her posts, so you can get ideas of new things to try and amazing. Okay, Jen, thank you so much for being on the podcast and for just helping us look at and think about all of this just a little bit 

[00:30:03] Jen: simpler. Yes. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much for having me.

[00:30:06] Jen: It was so fun. All right. Bye everybody. 

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