Interview for L.A. Leggers Run Club
I recently did an interview for the L.A. Leggers newsletter and wanted to share here. Thanks to author Greg White for the opportunity to get my message out. I hope you enjoy!
No Cookie-Cutter Plans From This Coach
These days, it seems a lot of times when I get inquires from athletes I sense a lot of fear and skepticism in their emails that I am going to be one of those coaches who dishes out cookie-cutter programs, ignores their individual needs and falls off the radar with communication after the first month or so. I’ve had athletes tell me how they “caught” a previous coach giving the exact same workouts to various athletes. It makes me sad that apparently many coaches are doing this and making athletes become skeptical. I don’t blame athletes; I would hate to feel like I’m being treated as an anonymous person in a coach’s roster, or worse, feel like I was duped or ignored while sending this person money! So I can understand why an athlete would want to ask a lot of questions up front (and I encourage it!) to make sure they’re making a smart decision on a coach. I love the questions, as you’ll see below.
High-Octane CEREAL for Carb-Conscious Clean-Eating Athletes
Yes, I said cereal. Let’s face it most of us grew up on cereal. I loved ALL the cereal. But once I got wise to nutrition, I realized the sugary stuff doused with dairy each morning was not doing me any good–not good for steady energy, not good for my gut, and not good for health or performance. Shoot. Bye bye cereal.
I’ve dabbled with making “paleo cereals” using coconut flakes, crushed nuts, seeds, blueberries, cinnamon, and nut milks. It worked, but it was “heavy” and also didn’t quite replicate real cereal, you know, “toasted flakes” and granola-type stuff…
Now I think I’ve nailed it, and it’s not just a plain bowl of empty-calorie cereal… It’s a fat-adapted/moderate LCHF-friendly recipe that’s nutrient dense & more than meets the eye:
Primal Pit Paste: Review and Giveaway!
For a while now, I’ve been on a quest to “clean up my lifestyle.” Late last year I got even more serious with it. And no, not in a diet sense nor in the sense that I’m secretly doing bad things haha. I’m talking about all the products used “in life” on a regular basis that are likely exposing us to harmful chemicals and ingredients. The laundry list of items is almost endless, as are the negative side effects associated — everything from hormonal disruption and imbalance to disease.
Among the big culprits are deodorants, which almost always include aluminum, parabens, carcinogens (for real!), and several other toxic ingredients. As soon as you slather onto your pits, your skin absorbs all those toxins like a kitchen sink. Makes you want to quit what you’re using right now, huh?! But let’s face it, going without is not an option (unless you want to be ostracized), and finding a safe, aluminum-free, all-natural alternative is tough because most of them just don’t work. Starting several years ago I wanted to break free from aluminum and the bad chemicals, and since then I’ve tried the all-natural brands such as Tom’s, Everyman Jack and a couple others… none worked for me. Stinky pits ensued, money wasted. (Side note: I’ve heard that Everyman Jack works for others, but I didn’t have the same success.) Read more…
Take it from Dr. Jeff Spencer: Recovery, Overtraining, Fear, and Finding A Mentor
In my last post I mentioned it takes a long time to build fitness and you can’t expect overnight results nor a coach to work magic for you. But that’s not to say you should continue to just build build build and beat the body down without adequate recovery and breaks from your usual sport to do something else instead. There’s a definite point of diminishing returns with training, in which more is not better, and, in fact, in the process of getting fit over time, recovery is the most important factor in achieving success. Without recovery we simply can’t get stronger. How much should you do then? Read on. Read more…
Honor Thy Sleep… and Does ‘Less is More’ Ever Apply?
This is a re-post from my TriTawn blog, but I feel that it fits well here too 🙂
These days it seems like the biohackers of the world are bragging about their minimal sleep patterns, running off 5 hours or whatever and feeling fantastic. One may argue, “Well, most aren’t endurance athletes so they can get away with less sleep.” But au contraire. I know a handful of triathletes who operate on this minimal sleep cycle and seemingly do just fine. If they can do it, great. But I just don’t get it. And interestingly, I listen to the Bulletproof Executive often and while Dave Asprey claims to not need much sleep because he has “hacked his sleep” so that he can get just as quality in less time, but I’m skeptical. Furthermore, when he asks his guests for their top-3 tips to kick more ass in life, I always hear people saying quality sleep!
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Guest Blog: One Athlete’s Journey from ‘Overweight and Unhealthy’ to ‘Fit, Confident Runner’
Coaching is not just about performance. It’s about changing lives.
Last fall I started coaching a dear friend who I’ve known since the first day of high school and to this day we’re still very close. Needless to say, I know her extremely well, but taking her on as a coaching client didn’t mean I’d been any less “tough” on her (with the best intentions for her success, of course).
Review: Inside Beaming’s 4-Day Cleanse + A Discount Offer For You
Those of you who follow me on social media (click here for my: IG, Twitter, FB) probably noticed a couple weeks ago when I posted a lot of really healthy-looking juices, raw soups, salads, etc. I was doing Beaming’s 4-Day Cleanse, and it was such a great experience. Honestly, I wish I could go back to that week right now. I will do another sooner than later. As I reflect, many positives stand out, including things I didn’t anticipate: i.e. way more time due to not having to cook or do dishes for four days, yet still having something healthy at my fingertips. I rarely eat out or “pickup lunch to go” because I don’t trust most restaurants’ sources of food nor their food prep, so that has me in the kitchen a lot. While I love cooking, it was nice to have a break. Read more…
Do A Cleanse With Coach Tawnee in January 2014!!!
I don’t know about you, but I’m already thinking about the New Year and ways I can start it off on the right foot. Well, I have my first plan of attack scheduled, and if you live near or around me (Orange County/San Diego) I’d love to get you involved in the fun! What is this big plan!? An organic juice and raw food cleanse January 13-16, 2014 (four days; Monday through Thursday). I am doing the cleanse through my friends at Beaming, a San Diego-based raw food bar/juice cleanse company that’s making its way up the coast to Orange County, woo hoo!
Achieve Better Health: Get Blood Work Done! (And A List of What to Test)
For the past several years, I’ve been getting regular blood testing done, and it’s something I recommend for everyone no matter if you’re healthy or suffering from an issue; no matter if you’re an avid athlete or recreational exerciser. Blood testing is one of the best windows we have to the inside and to what’s going on (saliva testing is arguably a better means). Getting blood work is a great way to take charge of your health, gauge wellness, and simply learn more about you. Sometimes we may look and feel fine on the outside, but the inside paints a different picture. Read more…
