The Green Door Life

One of my favorite aspects of being a nutrition coach is sharing in real-time with our community about how we navigate situations that can be challenging to prioritize healthy habits + how to pivot in the aftermath.

Case in point: I celebrated my 40th birthday last weekend and things did NOT go at all as I planned

The day started off great with plenty of introspection, journaling, a 3-mile run outside, a solid HIIT workout, soaking in the sun + a pool dip, and quality time with my boys. Then, my husband and I headed out for a night on the town in Austin, TX

Let me tell you... Austin is a huge live music capital, yes, but it's also a drinking mecca. I couldn't help but reflect on how alcohol is not just accepted but promoted in our culture. If you make a conscious decision to not drink alcohol, most people will demand to know why. Aside from being pregnant or an alcoholic, all other reasons for not drinking...

Do you know the NUMBER ONE habit that most "naturally" lean people report practicing daily?

Drum roll please...

1. They eat breakfast!

No, not just coffee or a whopping sugar bomb drink from Starbucks that quickly leads to a blood sugar crash and food coma. Like, actual real food with all three macronutrients: protein, complex carbs, and fats.

When you start your day with the right combination of amino acids from protein, glucose from complex carbohydrates, and triglycerides from quality fats, your metabolic rate increases.

Yes, eating food burns calories when you know what foods to combine together!

Not having breakfast is like going for a drive in your car on a nearly empty gas tank. Before you know it, you'll be on the side of the road calling Triple AAA and your entire day is thrown off.

The same exact thing happens when we don't get the nutrients we need first thing in the morning.

Your body is already coming...

We've had our heads down the last few weeks getting a new online class platform set up that allows us to seamlessly open up our weekly exercise and wellness classes drop-in style with no monthly commitment necessary!

So many of you have asked for this option, and we're happy to finally have a system that can manage the booking details for us so we can focus on continuing to deliver the highest caliber training feedback in the industry.

We hear time and time again from past and current clients that their personal trainers and/or group fitness instructors do not provide anywhere close to the level of form feedback that our master trainers deliver live.

That's why we keep our class sizes small. We'll watch your movement patterns + give you micro-adjustments and exercise modifications in real time.

As promised this week, check out our high protein cheesecake recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (we love the Diet Doc brand!)
• 2 cups low-fat Greek yogurt (Fage is our favorite)
• 1/2 cup Good Karma flax milk (any other milk will do; enter it into a food tracking app like MyFitnessPal to see how it changes the macronutrients)
• 2 organic Honey Crisp apples
• 1/2 package of sugar-free cheesecake flavored Jello (if avoiding processed food, Whole Foods has natural Jello substitutions)

Instructions: (serves 8)

• Create a single layer of sliced apples in a baking dish
• Mix all other ingredients together in a bowl and spread over apples
• Add remaining single layer of apples to the top of the dish
• Refrigerate for 30 minutes
• Top with Kind high protein almond clusters for an added crunch and enjoy!

Nutrition Information for 1 serving:

• 124 Calories
• 11.7 grams of protein
• 13.4 grams of carbohydrates
• 2.8 grams of fat

Let us...

we're considering a new online class platform and would love your help testing it out this week, free of charge! 

• Click here to RSVP for an astrology update by Anastasia Sauvage at 7:00 p.m. Pacific TONIGHT, August 1
• Click here to RSVP for  a meditation and breath work class by Shannon Morse and Ody Andrianos at 8:00 a.m. Pacific this Wednesday, August 3

This new booking system will allow us to offer our amazing classes drop-in style and showcase additional offerings (i.e. barre, Pilates, HIIT, Enneagram, and more) from our incredibly talented staff.

Lastly, if you've ever thought about becoming a nutrition and/or wellness coach, click reply to this email and ask us about our coaching program starting up this Fall. All past members are automatically eligible to sign up!

Shannon Morse & Lisa Kirby | Creators of Awaken Your Nutrition @thegreendoor.life  |  thegreendoorlife.com

P.S. ...

If we could put into words the opposite of a gluttonous fast food experience, it would be dining at chef Sean Brock's newest restaurant, June, in Nashville last weekend.

Absolutely everything was intentional, just like we do here at The Green Door Life.

The 20+ course tasting menu was curated not only for the taste buds but for all of the other senses which we noticed immediately upon walking through the fragrant, warm, and inviting, perfectly lit entry area.

From impossibly small sliced vegetables and herbs carefully placed on select bites to the zen atmosphere that calmed the nervous system entirely to the attentive yet friendly staff, we were transported into another dimension of super consciousness and hyper awareness.

We kept asking ourselves if this was real life.

This level of detail in such a tranquil setting with no need to choose from a menu allowed for us all to be...

we have a new workshop + workout coming up on Sunday, July 31st at 10 a.m. Pacific and want you to be the first to know about it!

Master trainer, Shannon Morse, will lead you through a 30-minute educational presentation and Q&As + a 60-minute bodyweight only workout.

Who this is for:

• You're completely new to strength training
• You've used light weights and want to safely progress
• You haven't lifted in months or years and want to restart
• You lift heavy regularly but are suffering from nagging injuries
• You lift regularly and want Shannon to check your form
• Or, you simply love The Green Door Life and want to soak up what we teach!

What you'll learn:

• Properly align your body in various athletic positions
• Understand basic movement patterns (ex: squat vs. hinge)
• Make micro-adjustments based on your unique body
• Establish a strong mind-muscle...

Let's get right into it! In no particular order, here are the top reasons interfering with results that we see in our coaching practice:

1. Stress. Even if you're eating "perfectly", exercising, meditating, getting outside in nature etc., but you're absolutely stressed and living in fear, worry and anxiety daily, it's nearly impossible to create a healthy, strong, lean body while enduring chronically high cortisol levels. When the body is in a fight or flight state, cortisol is activated to release glucose in the bloodstream for energy. The best thing to do when you feel stressed is get moving! If not, that glucose moves into fat storage if not used otherwise + the food you consume is more likely to be stored as body fat later. Think about it: if your body is perceiving a threat, whether caused by a saber-toothed tiger or a triggering email from a gaslighting colleague, you better believe it's going to hold onto body fat in an effort to keep you alive....

if you're local to the Bay Area or in town next week, you won't to miss our upcoming in-person Meal Prep Master Class at 6:00 p.m. on June 23rd in Novato, CA!

We will guide you through every step on exactly how to batch cook by macronutrient so you understand how to prepare an entire week's worth of delicious, balanced, nutritious meals, whether you're cooking for one or have a household to feed.

After our hands-on cooking tutorial, we'll enjoy the family-style dinner that we prepared together + share our e-book with meal plan and shopping list templates.

Space is limited to the first 20 people who RSVP. Please click the purchase button below to save your spot!

For those who are new to understanding macronutrients (proteins, carbs, fats), cooking in general, or creating satiating...