S05E90 Sustainable Nutrition for Every Schedule: Insights from Nutrition Coach Kelly Cavin

Unlock the secrets to transforming your relationship with food in our conversation with inspirational nutrition coach Kelly Cavin @kellycavinnutrition. Kelly shares her personal journey from restrictive dieting to using nutrition as a powerful tool for performance enhancement.

Discover how understanding your body's maintenance number can revolutionize your approach to refueling and achieving your body composition goals. We also unpack the critical role of accountability, both from a coach and oneself, in making lasting changes, and address common misconceptions about nutrition coaching.

Kelly guides us through the fundamentals of establishing healthy nutrition habits that extend beyond quick fixes. Explore the initial steps she takes with new clients to understand their motivations and lifestyle, setting realistic goals that encourage progress without overwhelm.

Kelly emphasizes the joy of helping clients break free from disordered thinking and learn to savor life's moments without guilt. Learn how practical tools like MyFitnessPal can aid in tracking nutritional habits effectively, ensuring that the process is both manageable and motivating.

Busy professionals and parents will find a wealth of strategies to incorporate better nutrition and exercise into their packed schedules. From time-saving meal prep solutions to creative family meal planning,

Kelly offers practical tips to simplify the process while maintaining health goals. She highlights the importance of small, sustainable changes and how embracing a non-linear journey in nutrition can lead to consistent and lasting success. Join us as Kelly shares her insights on fostering foundational habits that support a healthy lifestyle, emphasizing the power of gradual improvement over time. Get inspired to take control of your nutrition and make lasting changes.

#nutrition #BotoxAndBurpees @crossfittraining @crossfit @crossfitgames #crossfit #sports #exercise #health #movement #crossfitcoach #agoq #clean #fitness #ItAllStartsHere #CrossFitOpen #CrossFit #CrossFitCommunity @CrossFitAffiliates #supportyourlocalbox #crossfitaffiliate #personalizedfitness

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S05E90 Sustainable Nutrition for Every Schedule: Insights from Nutrition Coach Kelly Cavin

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00]

Sam Rhee: Welcome to another episode of Botox and Burpees. And I'm here with a very special guest, uh, nutrition coach, Kelly Cavan. She, uh, is someone that I've known for years. Um, and I really wanted her on this podcast to talk about nutrition and coaching for a couple of reasons.

One is that I've known you as an athlete. And I think when you see someone as an athlete, you can sort of see who they are and you have always been a grinder. Like you don't sit there and lord over people. Well, even though you're a very good athlete, you're excellent. Actually. Um, you don't take it too high.

Don't take it too low. You actually are more hard on yourself most days than, than not, but you never shrink away from a challenge, like whatever it is, whatever that workout is, um, you just attack it. And I think that as a coach, you want someone who's always going to be grinding with you for everything that you do.

Um, so, uh, Just a brief introduction about Kelly. [00:01:00] So I know you've had multiple certifications, pretty impressive, Precision Nutrition Level 1, NASA Nutrition Certification, and then, um, as well as a CrossFit Nutrition 1 Certification. So talk to me a little bit about your, Experience with your training, your philosophy, like what your approach as a nutrition coach has, like what that has molded you into in terms of how you approach talking to clients.

Kelly Cavin: So my interest in becoming a nutrition coach came from my experience with a nutrition coach when I started CrossFit. And I Got more into my performance. Um, I was able to move away from the kind of disordered thinking I had always had about wanting to take up less space and cutting and dieting and realizing that if I wanted to achieve my goals, I had to fuel them.

And so I actually hired a nutrition coach to work with me on finding my maintenance number, um, which is something a lot of people probably aren't familiar with, but it's that range that we sit at, that [00:02:00] we are, you know, Refueling all of the energy we use throughout the day. Um, we can be there. That's where we should be most of the year.

And it's where we are most effective and finding that balance for me was what helped me to maximize a lot of my performance goals as well as body composition changes. Um, and in turn, then. I wanted to be that for other people and support other people and finding the sustainable habits, um, that would help them reach their goals, whether it was weight loss, body comp changes, performance, um, And just learning more about that and being able to do for them what, what was done for me.

And so helpful.

Sam Rhee: So if someone's skeptic and they're saying, why do I need a nutrition coach? I could just read this stuff. I could just watch a bunch of YouTube videos like the one, probably like this one. And, uh, and just sort of figure it out myself. Because You know, this isn't [00:03:00] rocket science. It's, I eat every day.

I should be able to figure out what I'm doing with

Kelly Cavin: it. It's not rocket science. And I think people sometimes overcomplicate what they're looking for or what they need to do. Um, I think primarily it's accountability. I think it's somebody to, to know someone's looking over your shoulder. Um, to kind of steer you in the right direction when you fall off a little bit.

Um, people really thrive when they know that they're being held accountable. Whether it's a coach, a friend, a partner, um, a spouse, it just helps to know that you're answering to somebody else.

Sam Rhee: I would agree with that a thousand percent for two reasons. One is, uh, we actually as lay people in general don't know as much about nutrition as we think we do.

And I know that as a physician, because as physicians, we're horrible at nutrition. And most of my knowledge in terms of nutrition has been trial and error. [00:04:00] Going through nutrition challenges and resets and, and, and trying and experimenting with different diets. And I think if I had had a nutrition coach at the beginning, someone who had had experience, um, sort of working with people and saying, okay, so you might think this is what you need to do, but why don't you think about it this way or try it this way?

And then, like you said, also accountability. I think one of the biggest things that I've seen. Um, and fitness is, is that you need accountability, right? That's why we take classes. That's what CrossFit's about. It's about being in a group setting. It's about putting your number up on the whiteboard. And you don't have to necessarily put your number on a whiteboard for everyone to see for nutrition, but if there is someone there that is helping you saying, Hey, listen, this is not, you know, or.

more like, Oh, you met your goals that you really needed to for this, this, and this, it just sort of gets you into the right habits.

Kelly Cavin: Well, sure.

Sam Rhee: Um, so then when you start with clients, uh, what do you think is the biggest misconception or what is it that they don't [00:05:00] know or don't realize the most when you First start working with somebody.

Kelly Cavin: I think in part it is that accountability. It's knowing. So when I start working with people, um, I'm not breathing down your neck. Um, and I find that some people jump right in and they want to make me happy. And so they're doing it because they know that I'm looking and they want to be the A student. Um, other people, kind of pick and choose what they want to take from what I put out there.

Um, and then some people fall off and don't really stick with it and maybe they weren't ready or maybe they just don't want to make the lifestyle changes. It ebbs and flows for everybody. Um, But I think the most important thing to know is that it's a level of accountability that you still have to maintain for yourself.

I'm not going to babysit you. Or I check in once a week, you know, I have access maybe to my fitness pal or your notes and your phone, or you can share a diary with me. Um, but. I'm not looking at it every day to see what you're eating. It's just kind [00:06:00] of knowing that it's possible. Um, you might second guess some choices and make better ones if you know that's the case.

Sam Rhee: Right. So you don't need to be a parent where you're sitting there breathing down their neck about all this stuff and it's, it's about accountability, but that accountability has to come from your client who has to put that in. You're not going to. Uh, Bill, like establish their resolve or somehow give them the will.

Like they have to bring that will to the table in order to get this done. Um, that's important. Like that's for every coach, right? Like, you know, when you go work out, you can't get your coach to do the workout for you. Like, You've got to put in the effort for that.

Kelly Cavin: Yeah. And it can be frustrating because you can, you can lead a horse to water.

You can give them everything that they need and it's on them to use it or not, to trust the process. It's a process you're not going to see. Um, you know, it's not the quick fix and that's what makes it sustainable and that's what makes it then when we're, our time together is done, [00:07:00] you can continue doing those things because you've adapted to habits that are flexible and you can sustain.

in day to day life without me or a coach.

Sam Rhee: What is it that you love about nutrition coaching? Like, why, why do you still do it? What is it that really gets you jazzed about it?

Kelly Cavin: I think it was, as I mentioned before, the motivation for me was helping other people kind of change that disordered thinking and.

Knowing that like every day can't be an all or nothing. And you know, it's, you can work things into your day to day that you may consider bad or good and make it all work because we don't live in a vacuum. You know, we can commit certain times to being really dialed in, but that's not reality. There's holidays, birthdays, dinner out, bad days where you just want a treat or whatever it might be.

Um, it's learning how to manage those times. And when people trust me and they. Um, give themselves that grace and [00:08:00] that time and they start to see it work. And then they come back to me and they're like, Oh my gosh, I love, I enjoyed my Thanksgiving so much because I didn't feel like I did everything in sight, but I enjoyed it and it was delicious.

And the next day I just got back on track and you know, I didn't feel guilty about it. It's those moments that really are like big aha moments for them and really gratifying for me.

Sam Rhee: So let's suppose I'm one of your new clients and I'm showing up at your door and we have a meeting and I, um, don't know anything about nutrition.

I just need help. What is it that you're going to do with me at the get go to get me started?

Kelly Cavin: So usually it's a conversation, a meeting to kind of establish. their why, you know, why do they want to get, you know, their nutrition on track? Where do they see their challenges? Um, and what do they think they do well?

Because I think that's really important to kind of work off of as well. Um, so we have that conversation, um, and kind of [00:09:00] all explain my process. Um, I check in weekly, I provide a, you know, we track weight and other biometrics measurements and things like that to just track changes. Um, And then I'll send a questionnaire that helps them dig in a little bit more, gives me more information about them, but also, um, have they worked with a nutrition coach before?

If so, what was that like? Um, was it a good experience or bad? What they feel their nutrition knowledge to be. Um, have they used Uh, tracker of some sort, my fitness pal, have they counted macros before? Um, it's important to know what stress levels, uh, sleep patterns, if they have food aversions, um, uh, if they have allergies of any sort.

I don't want to be recommending foods that they either can't eat or like, I hate that. Um, and then it's important to learn more about their life. You know, do they have kids? Do they work full time? Do they exercise? That's also a big piece, how often they [00:10:00] exercise. Um, so it just gives me kind of a 360 degree view of what I'm working with.

And then we kind of established just a jumping off point. Um, it's always good to get, you know, three to five days of them tracking just what they eat day to day. And usually it comes out a little cleaner than it normally would be.

Sam Rhee: Well, yeah, cause they're writing it down. So now

Kelly Cavin: they're thinking about it.

So automatically they're kind of like. Dialing it in a little bit, but it gives me a good idea of what their even maintenance numbers might be and where a good jumping off point is. And then it's always the low hanging fruit. It's starting simple. It's are you getting enough protein with every meal? Are you getting fruits and vegetables with every meal?

Are you exercising? How often are you exercising? So it's setting small goals to start so that they feel successful week over week and they're not overwhelmed. Um, and also [00:11:00] asking for patience and. Grace, because it does take time for those things to add up to feel like more.

Sam Rhee: What apps do you like to use for, um, for clients in terms of them tracking themselves?

Kelly Cavin: My Fitness Pal is the easiest one because it gives me access to their journal. So I can log in and view what they've had and they can say to me, hey, you know, On this day, I ate this, but I'm not sure if I had had that or what could I have added to this and I can go in and access and view everything. Um, I haven't found other apps that have that.

capability. And so that's really the most interactive, uh, with them. Some people don't. Tracking is a little bit daunting. Um, it's not meant to be forever, but it is a really good tool. Um, but it's also helpful for people to just add notes in their phone and they can share those with me. Um, I have a, Teenager who does that.

I'm like, I'm not going to ask her to blog in my fitness pal every day, but she will make notes and share [00:12:00] them. And then I can see, it's just an easy way for her to jot down her, you know, daily intake without being super detailed. Um, And it keeps her going because it's not an overwhelming ask.

Sam Rhee: That's not bad.

Um, okay. So let's get into a couple of possible scenarios. So some example people that you might see, and maybe one of our listeners or watchers might be sort of in this category, and then we can sort of approach it. Um, and this is the first one I called the busy professional. So this is someone maybe in the 40, 45 years old, somewhere in there, maybe 50.

They don't know a whole lot about nutrition per se. They don't really exercise that regularly. And over the past couple of years, every year, they're gaining about two pounds. Maybe, um, they travel a lot or they work a lot. Um, so they're kind of limited in terms of like their options eating at work. Maybe they binge eat, like maybe they don't eat all day and then they eat a lot at night when they get home.

Um, [00:13:00] the rest of their habits are kind of not awesome either. They're stressed, right? Because they have a lot of work related, uh, issues. Maybe, maybe they're not sleeping well and now they're coming, coming to you because they're like, wow, I've gained like, over the past couple of years. And I, I need help with this.

How do we start with this?

Kelly Cavin: So I think someone like that, the, um, the schedule is a big challenge with travel, especially, but also being in an office, maybe sitting at a desk all day long, um, I emphasize meals in that case, eating breakfast before you leave, um, planning lunch, you can use a meal prep service, you can bring leftovers from dinner the night before, um, someone like that I would probably recommend making a designated time during the week to plan out meals so that you're not scrambling, you get home from work and you're like, oh, I didn't have anything planned for dinner, I'm just gonna have a bowl of cereal, um, Nothing wrong with a bowl of cereal here and there, but it's also not [00:14:00] great every day.

And so it's good to have a plan. Um, I also, I've worked with a lot of people who travel and we talk about, you know, airports have come a long way. They have a lot of, you know, really great snacks and refrigerated items that you can get once you're through the hard boiled eggs. There's high protein Greek yogurts.

Um, Protein bars if you need them, but even like a wrap with, you know, deli turkey or, um, the different like snack boxes that have cheeses and nuts and, um, things that you can, there are ways to get that protein in. If you're wanting to make the effort, um, the core power energy drinks are great. So even having like a stash of that at work so that if you need something, it's just a quick grab.

Um, and then movement is key. Um, even if it's not intentional exercise, but getting up. To walk around the office for five minutes every hour. So walk around the airport, um, go down to the gym at work. And then once someone starts to get momentum a little bit, then [00:15:00] you move on to, well, hey, how about you get two times in at the gym a week?

Um, and just because they're feeling good and making progress where they are, you kind of take the next step. How's your sleep? You know, go to bed a half hour earlier every night if you're stressed and you just need to like relax, unplug a little bit. And, um, Try to work back some of that stress and just start small.

Sam Rhee: I think one of the biggest things with these types of people is that it's sort of a vicious cycle. Like they have a lot of stress. They have a lot of. Habits that are sort of molded around their really crappy work schedule and then they can't break out of it. And it's because of that, that they give themselves the grace, like, well, I can't do these things because I'm just so stressed.

I can't work. And so, but those are the people that should probably actually look at it. Like, Because my life is so far off the pendulum on this, I actually have to do this, maybe more than other [00:16:00] people do. And that's really hard when you've only gotten four hours of sleep, you've been on a plane for six hours, you have a work dinner, and you know, and those are the kind of people that need to.

Start, but especially because you could probably do that when you're in your twenties, early thirties, but then you get into your forties and it gets really hard. Um, I would say for a lot of the people I work with, alcohol tends to be a killer. It messes up your sleep. Um, when you drink, uh, at work dinners and so forth, it just, it, uh, it's a lot of empty calories sometimes makes it also leads to poor food choices.

Yeah.

Kelly Cavin: That's a big piece of the alcohol. Drinking in general is just, it lowers your inhibitions. And then you're like, Oh, I'm just going to have that. Right. What's the big deal? And it adds up.

Sam Rhee: Exactly. And so, and I've, I found that in the past. And so, um, so once you kind of break the cycle a little bit, you can sort of get out of it.

But I think finding the way to break it is really hard because it does take planning. Like [00:17:00] you said, meal prep. is not something that you do in the spur of the moment. You have to actually spend some time doing that.

Kelly Cavin: And there's services. Um, one of my clients, uh, started using a service and said, you know, I can split them and I can freeze one.

And then when I come home after work or I can have half for dinner and half for lunch, um, it's those are kind of That's a great person to lean into that because you also don't want to come home from work after a long day and have to pull a meal together. Um, I, a lot of companies and offices have exercise incentives like walk getting steps and gift cards and insurance companies offer the same type of, so it's, you can look into those things to kind of get that extra push as well if there's a little reward at the end of it.

Um, and I do think having high protein snacks available at the office, um, because it's easy to kind of just grab something and pick, but knowing that if you are doing that, it's something that [00:18:00] is, has benefits, um, is important as well.

Sam Rhee: It's tough when they have donuts at the office and you have your core protein shake or whatever, like, You have to actually have some willpower, because your coach isn't going to be able to do that for you.

You have to actually be able to like, navigate that.

Kelly Cavin: Or, have the donut, but also have the core power. You know, make the, pair the choice with something better. And, you know, you don't always have to, I think it is important to give yourself the grace to have those things. Otherwise, you go into that restriction mode, where you feel like it's all off limits.

And then, you either pick. to go off the rails, or in general, you just completely fall off the rails and kind of lose that momentum. So that is a big piece, too, is kind of working in the things that you enjoy.

Sam Rhee: I like that. You're a very flexible, forgiving coach, much, much better than some of my coaches in my life.

Let's put it that way. Um, all right. So. Let's go to scenario number two, the young athlete. [00:19:00] So we have some people like this at the gym there. Let's say it's a 25 ish year old woman, maybe 30, training, gloves, CrossFit, doing a ton of, um, uh, workouts. She, uh, wants to, uh, improve her performance. Uh, but she's also worried, like, she wants to stay feminine.

She doesn't want to get bulky or, or muscle bound or heavy or, or, or change her aesthetics negatively. Like, how do you approach someone like that?

Kelly Cavin: So I think this is where the beauty of maintenance comes in. When you know what your maintenance, it's a range, but what that range of calories is per day. Um, It's really important to eat enough when you're training like that without eating too much.

Um, I think that's where the beauty of macros comes in. You're getting enough protein for muscle, um, growth and repair and maintenance if that's your goal. Um, but also carbs and fat are super important for energy. Um, timing them, like, [00:20:00] having the right things before and after workouts is important. Um, and that's something that when you have that balance throughout the day, that's when you also can see those body composition changes.

It's hard to get bulky. I know that's like a big fear for women in general, but people work like years to get bulky. Um, Eating in a surplus is, is often necessary for that to happen as well. So having a handle on, um, how much you're eating and, and being at that maintenance number kind of keeps that in check as well.

Sam Rhee: In terms of macro, so counting macros is basically counting macronutrients, which is your proportion of carbohydrates, fats, and protein that you take in every day. And you have certain proportions and certain numbers in terms of calories of each. Um, And I have tried that and it is very onerous and I could see it and like most people probably don't have the time or patience to do it.

An athlete I, in this situation, would because that's very important to [00:21:00] her. But, um, have you tried counting macros personally and how did you find that to be as a process? Because I always felt like it was, at the end of the day, I was like, oh, I'm short like 10 grams of fat and so I'd like eat like seven peanuts or something.

Yeah.

Kelly Cavin: Yeah.

Sam Rhee: It started to become a little crazy.

Kelly Cavin: It can be, and if that's kind of your tendency, not you per se, but if your tendency is disordered eating in any sort of way, counting macros can be a slippery slope. Um, I also don't think that necessarily has to be forever. Um, I've counted macros years ago and was given very low numbers and I, you know, at the time didn't understand macros and the calorie correlation, um, in hindsight, when I did learn more about them and looked back, I was like, no wonder I was starving and miserable and Freddie couldn't wait for me to stop, uh, counting or for like the challenge to be over because I was miserable.

Um, yeah. But it's also a really good way to keep yourself in check, um, to eat a well [00:22:00] balanced, it kind of encourages you to eat more well balanced, the more whole fruits, vegetables, grains, lean proteins you eat, the more you can eat, um, volume wise. So if you're in a deficit, you're going to be hungry, you're eating less than your body needs, and it's important to make sure that you're mitigating that with those kinds of foods.

Um, but for the general person, it's really good. Your goals are generally, are, are calorie based. Um, and macros do correlate to that. So if you're in a deficit, you could have a calorie threshold and just make sure you're getting enough protein. Um, the fats and carbs can land wherever they are. Um, ultimately calories are King.

And you, it's, that's going to dictate whether you're at maintenance in a surplus, in a deficit, how deep of a deficit you're in. Um, so no, I, I wouldn't, I would say for an athlete like this, they're helpful. Um, I, I was both surprised at how much I could eat, um, when I did this [00:23:00] and built every week to see like how far I could push and maintain.

Um, I think we're so programmed to. to have this like lower calorie threshold in all of our minds. Um, but I also think that for an athlete, getting that balance is more, um, caters more to good performance.

Sam Rhee: I think it's surprising how your appetite or at least minded changed when I was Eating more protein, like I was actually less hungry than when I was eating a lot more carbs.

Uh, I think it just, you know, it, it, it's a, it, this satiety sort of reflex is a little bit different.

Kelly Cavin: We, um, we burn protein slower than we burn carbs. Carbs we burn very quickly and that's why. Pre workout, it's really helpful to have quick digesting carbs, fruits, vegetables, rice cakes, cereal, things like that at all the CrossFit competitions.

Everyone's got that. They're they're, um, [00:24:00] uncrustable and things like that because you burn that quickly and then it's ready to go for your workouts. Um, I always think of the, when I go out to eat, if I were to order a stack of pancakes for breakfast, I'm starving like an hour later because it's burnt. So protein is, um, slower to digest.

We actually burn the most calories, you know, digesting protein as well. Um, but it will keep you more full. Uh, longer and as well as fruits and vegetables with fiber that also is slower to process and keep you more full.

Sam Rhee: How, um, hard or uptight are you about processed or ultra processed foods? I, I feel like it depends on the client.

Like the 45 year old dude, I'm not sweating so much. The process stuff, because he does need to get sort of what he can. Um, but for someone like an athlete like this, or in general, like the healthier you keep reaching towards, you kind of like, it feels like I'm [00:25:00] trying to stay away more from the process or ultra process.

Kelly Cavin: Yeah. I think the doses in the poison or the poisons in the dose in that case, um, where, um, You know, too much of that isn't good for anybody. Um, but if that's your, you know, your 200 calorie treat at the end of the day and you've hit all your goals and it works for you, um, absolutely. I think that that fits.

I think for an athlete like that, if you're trying to maximize what your body can do and you want the micronutrients. It's also of all of the, the fruits and vegetables and whole foods, then it's probably something that you might want to steer away from. But also you want to, you don't want to cater to that mentality of things being off limits.

So even as an athlete, I think it's important to give yourself the grace of those treats and foods here and there. Because Otherwise, you're creating that dichotomy of good and

Sam Rhee: bad, like breaking rules.

Kelly Cavin: And then you, then there's [00:26:00] an end point where you can't sustain that anymore, and you don't want that, you know, long term, then you're not creating habits, you're, it's more of a diet that isn't going to last.

Sam Rhee: I like the fact that you're trying to not establish these psychologic barriers of, you know, because we all have them either culturally when we grew up, maybe our parents, maybe like when we were young adults where things are forbidden, they're not appropriate and sort of like kind of removing that stigma kind of helps people not have to freak out about that.

Kelly Cavin: I think we grew up in a time of diet food, like light this, diet that, you know. Everyone has the people they look to in their time where it was Britney Spears for me and Kritten there and you know, they're, they're, a lot of it is genetic. Um, and for me that was never going to be the case. So when I realized with building muscle that that was really empowering and it felt really good and I'm really happy with the way I look and I want my kids [00:27:00] to see that and my girls and, um, to not feel like foods are good or bad or that like you need the diet food.

It's, it's, it's. You know, everything has a place and a time.

Sam Rhee: Let's go through the last one. The, uh, new parent. I think this is very challenging. So you're like a 30, 35 year old parent. You have kids, maybe multiple kids. You have to, you know, you're making family meals, but then you also have personal health goals as well.

Like how, like. And your life is just a mess because you have all these family responsibilities. You're pulling your hair out. How do they approach their eating as well as sort of their families eating at the same time?

Kelly Cavin: I think the simpler the better. I think people have a tendency to overcomplicate. Um, it doesn't have to be a recipe.

You can grill a bunch of chicken. You can roast a bunch of vegetables. Or, um, and make pasta or rice, um, on the side or mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes. It's, it's [00:28:00] having a little bit of each, um, that something will work for everyone. Um, it's easy to, I'm a recipe follower. And I make the time for that because I'm just not great at pulling things together.

Um, but I do think that in those times, cause I've been there and I have three kids and everybody has different preferences. Um, and I have my own goals and things that I want. Um, it's just a matter of making sure that you're not overcomplicating it. And you can simplify just a protein, a carb and some vegetables, um, or two vegetables or two carbs, whatever it might be so that everybody has a little bit of everything.

Um, the crock pot or the air fryer, things like that, that are, um, just make things that much easier. I put food in, I put it in the, on the crock pot yesterday and I like conquered the bay. It was like, I was done at 12 and I felt so good. Also, something that people don't [00:29:00] always think about is frozen food.

Um, there's frozen grilled chicken, there's frozen vegetables, they're flash frozen at their ripest. There is no, there's nothing wrong with frozen food. So buy a bunch of bags of frozen, frozen vegetables and defrost one for everybody or, uh, whatever it may be. You can, there's different flavor profiles. Um, that's the easiest way to go and it's very readily available and relatively inexpensive too.

Sam Rhee: This one is a tough one. 'cause it's easy. Always easier said than done. And I've seen parents struggle with, my child will only eat peas and chicken fingers. Yeah. And refuses to anything else. Yeah. Or you know, they have food aversion or other issues and so, um, don't think I've ever seen a child ever carry that out.

Mm-hmm . Through. Pre adolescent, but certainly the first couple of years can always be a little bit of a challenge with stuff like that.

Kelly Cavin: I also think there's something that [00:30:00] I've had to work on is moving away from the traditional breakfast is breakfast, lunch is lunch, dinner is dinner. Have breakfast or dinner.

There's no problem with scrambled eggs and some cut up fruit. You know, it doesn't have to be vegetables. You can cut up fruit with their dinner. Um, and kind of moving out of those traditional ideals. Um, kind of helps you to broaden the horizons on things that they might be more open to eating.

Sam Rhee: That's awesome.

Have a

Kelly Cavin: turkey sandwich for dinner. You know, it's like, I'm very married to that, or I always was. So it's always a little bit hard for me, um, to have like something like breakfast for dinner. And then I think, well, why couldn't I have eggs for dinner? What is the big deal? So that helps too.

Sam Rhee: Um, so. I love everything that we've talked about so far.

Um, what are some of the final big takeaways that you would want someone listening to this to know about nutrition, about nutrition coaching, [00:31:00] about how they If they don't have someone or have never had someone like what they should expect and, and why should they at this point just now start doing it?

Kelly Cavin: I think there's a lot of noise out there about what's good for you.

What's bad for you. Um, different diets, cleanses, quick fixes, but we don't live in. in a vacuum, and we do need to learn how to adapt these healthy habits to take on whatever it is that comes our way from day to day. Um, and I think that before we look to those things, you have to check the book. boxes, and it's not that complicated.

It's eating protein, fruits and vegetables, moving your body every day, whether it's a walk or an intentional workout, um, getting enough sleep, drinking enough water. None of it is sexy or exciting, but it's the most sustainably simple way to live. Um, and [00:32:00] it allows for flexibility. So if you are checking all those boxes and still having a hard time, then there may be more going on there.

But I think a lot of people look past all of that and want to do the easy thing, um, that's going to give them quicker results.

Sam Rhee: Yeah. I think most of the things that I've seen have very hard, strict guidelines. like any other diet that you've seen out there, whether it's a grapefruit diet or this or that, and, um, imposes, like you said, these ideas that this can be done quickly, that you can do this in three months or six months.

And I think most of us know who have ever sort of dealt with nutrition on a regular basis. and grappled with it. It's a process and it's not a linear, straightforward process. It's like a zigzag. And I've gotten, you know, to points where I've, you know, been terrible, kind of come back, learned a little bit, come back.

And where I am now was [00:33:00] the product of a lot of experience getting through all of that. And, you know, And I think it's like every other, it's almost like a sport. Like once you start a sport, no one expects you to be able to hit a baseball, like a 75 mile per hour baseball, but you have to start somewhere with it and you continually get better with it.

And I think that would be my message. For people is it may seem daunting with your life. Like, Oh, how do I get enough sleep? How do I drink, you know, drink enough water? How do I eat like healthy? How do I make these changes, which sound simple, but can be overwhelming when it's just so much easier for me to drive, you know, on my way home.

And I used to be this person pick up Sonic or, or Wendy's and that's my meal and I'm done and I don't have to worry about meal prep or any of that stuff. But at some point, um, Most people have to take some sort of self responsibility and say, listen, I don't want this to be the way I live forever. And sometimes people like, you know, have a rock bottom moment.

I remember [00:34:00] I did. Um, And, uh, I don't know if you did, but I remember when I started being like, I got to be really serious about my nutrition is I went on a trip and I put on a suit that I hadn't worn in about a year and a half and it wouldn't fit. And I had to go get some safety pins from downstairs to, to, to put the pants on.

And, and I think most people, um, If they care enough about themselves, we'll make those changes, but then also realize that it's a process that takes a tremendous amount of time.

Kelly Cavin: Well, and you said it, it's like, uh, you know, it sounds simple, but we all have different lives, we all have different stresses and jobs and things that come into play, and that's where a coach is helpful.

Because, like with a coach on a sports team, you need a game plan, and you, my job is then to tell you how to make those things work around your lifestyle. And there's ways to do that no matter what the process, as long as you're willing to make those changes, be open minded, um, and kind of trust the [00:35:00] process.

Sam Rhee: Love that. Um, what is your coaching IG handle? I know you have an IG. Uh,

Kelly Cavin: it's kelly cav in nutrition.

Sam Rhee: Kelly cav in nutrition. Check it out. I, uh, thank you so much. Thank you. For the information and it's actually inspired me some more. So I hope for everyone who has just gotten through the new year and is starting to think about as always new beginnings. I encourage that. Like, it doesn't matter when you start. It's just as good to start in January as it is in July. Absolutely. Um, and don't give up. Start with, you know, stick with it. And, uh, and I think, like you said, using a coach can be so helpful on so many levels.

And, uh, thank you so much for, uh, sharing your expertise.

Kelly Cavin: Thank you for having

Sam Rhee: me.