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Summer distractions don’t have to derail your goals.
Learn 5 simple, realistic ways to reset your fitness and nutrition this fall so you can feel confident heading into the holidays. Summer tends to fly by in a blur of travel, cookouts, and busy schedules. If you feel like you didn’t make the progress you wanted these past few months, you’re not alone. The good news? September is the perfect time to reset, refocus, and commit to simple habits that will carry you through the holidays feeling stronger, healthier, and more confident. Here are five actionable steps you can start today: 1. Rebuild Your Routine With Small Wins Don’t feel like you need to “go all in” right away. Instead, start by picking one or two healthy habits you know you can stick to — like walking 10 minutes after lunch or hitting your protein target at breakfast. Small wins create momentum and consistency, which matters more than perfection. 2. Prioritize Strength Training Over Endless Cardio If fat loss and confidence are your goals, resistance training should be your foundation. Even two to three sessions per week can make a big difference in metabolism, strength, and energy. Plus, building muscle helps your body burn more calories at rest. 3. Fuel Your Body (Don’t Starve It) Skipping meals or cutting calories too hard usually backfires — leaving you hungry, tired, and more likely to binge later. Instead, focus on eating enough lean protein, fiber-rich carbs, and healthy fats to fuel your day. Balanced meals keep blood sugar stable and make fat loss sustainable. 4. Get Back to Basics With Sleep & Stress It’s easy to overlook, but your sleep quality and stress levels play a massive role in fat loss and overall health. Aim for 7–9 hours of sleep and carve out even 5 minutes for deep breathing, journaling, or stretching. You’ll notice a difference in energy and cravings almost immediately. 5. Set a “Mini Goal” Before the Holidays Rather than thinking about everything you want to achieve, pick a short-term goal to aim for between now and Thanksgiving. Maybe it’s losing 5 pounds, increasing your squat weight, or simply fitting into your favorite jeans more comfortably. Short deadlines keep motivation high. ✅ Remember: Fall is a fresh start, not a punishment for summer. You don’t need to overhaul your life to see results — just focus on consistency with the basics. If you’re ready for accountability and a clear plan, I can help you simplify the process and finally reach your goals without restriction or burnout. Book a free discovery call here →
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 Struggling to Lose Fat in Your 40s? You’re Not Alone — and You’re Not Broken If you’re in your 40s and feel like your body is fighting against every effort to lose fat, I promise you this: you're not crazy, lazy, or doing it all wrong. The reality is, what worked in your 20s and 30s just doesn't work the same anymore — and there’s a good reason for that. Let’s break it down and talk about what actually does work when it comes to fat loss for women over 40. Your Metabolism Has Changed — But It’s Not “Broken” One of the biggest myths I hear from women is that their metabolism is “shot.” The truth? Your metabolism may have slowed, but it can absolutely be reignited.
Hormones in Your 40s Are Not the Enemy — But They Need Support As estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone begin to shift, many women experience:
💡 What works:
Many women I work with come to me eating too little during the day, then binge or crave carbs at night. Sound familiar? That’s often a sign your body is under-fueled and over-stressed. Plus, as we age, protein becomes even more important to protect muscle and support metabolism. 💡 What works:
If you’ve been doing tons of cardio and not seeing results, you’re not alone. The truth is, cardio burns calories—but lifting weights changes your body. 💡 What works:
✅ Sustainable Fat Loss After 40 Comes From a Smarter, Not Harder, Approach It’s not about dieting harder or pushing through exhaustion. It’s about working with your body — not against it. And guess what? You don’t have to figure it all out alone. My coaching method is built specifically for women like you — who want fat loss that lasts, without extremes or restriction. Let’s Chat About Your Goals If you’re ready to finally lose the fat, build strength, and feel confident again… 📲 Click here to book a free discovery call — and let’s build a plan that works for your body and your life. Coach KayliNASM Certified Personal Trainer and NCI Certified Nutrition Coach specializing in women’s health, fat loss, and mindset transformation. Summer is almost here—and if you’re like most women I coach, you’re probably feeling a little pressure to "get it together" before the season hits full swing. Maybe you’ve tried to start over more times than you can count. You’ve done the crazy cardio routines, skipped meals, cut carbs, and downloaded another free challenge hoping this time it will stick.
But let me tell you something powerful: It’s not too late. You don’t need to be perfect. And you definitely don’t need to punish your body to feel confident this summer. The next 90 days can look and feel completely different—not because you finally found the "magic fix," but because you focused on what actually works. Let’s break it down. Why Most Fat Loss Plans Don’t Work (And What to Do Instead) The biggest mistake I see women make this time of year? They go all in.
What works? Building a sustainable system of habits you can actually stick with—even on a busy Tuesday or a low-energy weekend. 5 Things You Can Start Doing Today These are simple. They’re doable. And most importantly, they work. 1. Pick Your BAMs (Bare Ass Minimums) These are the 4 daily non-negotiables I teach in my Phoenix Rising program:
2. Choose 3 Autopilot Breakfasts + 3 Autopilot Lunches Don’t play macro Tetris every night. Instead, create a simple meal rotation that hits your protein and fiber goals without making you think too hard. Not sure how? I’ve got a free plug-and-play guide you can download right [here]. 3. Lift Something Heavy Twice a Week Cardio won’t shape your body—strength training will. You don’t need hours in the gym. Just commit to moving your body with resistance a couple times a week. Your metabolism and your future self will thank you. 4. Focus on MORE, Not Less Instead of obsessing over what to cut, focus on what to add:
5. Track Your Wins (Not Just Your Weight) You are not a number on a scale. Track your strength. Your energy. Your consistency. Your confidence. Because those are the things that stick when the scale fluctuates. If You Start Now, You’ll Be So Glad You Did Imagine where you could be 90 days from now if you stopped overcomplicating the process and just focused on the right things. You could:
Something New Is Coming... I’m getting ready to launch my brand-new Phoenix Rising Group Coaching Community before the end of this month—and it’s built just for women like you:
More details are coming soon—but if your gut says this could be the thing that finally sticks, stay close. This summer? We rise. ✨ Ready to simplify your next 90 days? Start with your BAMs today, and watch what happens. You in? AuthorBy Coach Kayli Montoya-Huston  I have a bone to pick today, as I'm feeling a bit rant-y.
But mostly, I'm frustrated. Because I think you're getting tricked and it's time you learn the truth... See, the workout "truths" you've been fed are things like,
Ok, to be fair, it's not all nonsense - there is some truth in each one. But it's nonsense to the fact that ~95% of the people reading this newsletter lift weights for aesthetic reasons. Aka you lift weights to look better. Sure, you know it's healthy and therapeutic and helps you move better and makes you stronger, yada, yada. And yes, I get it ⏤ you don't want to look too bulky like a bodybuilder, or get too obsessed with your muscles, or not fit into your favorite outfits. I understand all of that. But at the end of the day, you MOSTLY go to the gym to 1) build muscle and 2) lose fat so you feel more confident in your clothes and proud of the body you see in the mirror. You want to be in-shape. Slim, defined, and muscular in all the right places. (And hey, me too. No shame here.) So if you agree that that is your main motive in the gym, then believing the "truths" above will only prevent you from reaching your goals. And why is that, exactly? Firstly, muscle and fat tissue can ONLY do three things:
And, again, yes we can also workout to improve our cardiovascular fitness, explosive power, core stability, and so on. Or just to have fun! These are all by-products of muscle building workouts too, they just aren't the primary focus. You can go to the gym and do whatever feels good for you. Do the HIIT class, the kettlebells, the battle rope, or Crossfit workouts. Just don't be upset when your body doesn't look the way you want, even though you're working out hard. Because remember: our goal in the gym is NOT to sweat the most or get our heart rate up as high as we can or to train for the NFL combine. Our goal is to gain muscle and lose fat. Period. Which means we need to do workouts that are built for exactly that. There's obviously way too much to break down in one blog, but I'll give you my general template. My muscle-building workout breakdown
To clarify, 2 and 3 are 80% of these workouts. And the other 20% ⏤ 1, 4, and 5 ⏤ support 2 and 3 to make them more effective via injury prevention and core stability. Or cardio, which supports fat loss. Notice how everything is hyper-specific to the goal of building muscle or losing fat. And, of course, the exercise selection, sets, rep ranges, and weekly progressive overload are the other components required to optimize all of this, but this is the skeleton. Maybe I'll chat on those another day, but I hope this was helpful. I'm passionate about making this clear because I want you to get results. And I've had too many clients come to me thinking they've been working out the right way, except they've looked the same for the last two years. Not because they weren't trying. But because they were putting their efforts in the wrong place. So my hope is to help you prevent that. You only have so much time, energy, and bandwidth to make it to the gym in the first place. If you're going to be there, I want you to make it count. Not wasting your time on fluff, false promises, or exercises that simply don't move the needle. One last thing, if you want to completely take the guesswork out of workout programming check out our ASCEND Training App. This app will help elevate your fitness journey with an all-inclusive collection of personal training programs designed to help rise to new heights. Thanks for listening to me rant. If you have any questions, just comment below. Thanks, Kayli  By: Coach Kayli
In this blog I'm gonna breakdown the basics of losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time, aka "body recomposition." Today, I'll teach you what it is, how it's possible, and who it works best for. I wanna keep this jam packed with high value and minimal fluff, so let's jump right into it. ↓ To cut or to bulk... why not both? Fitness experts call body recomp the "holy grail" of getting in-shape because it's the goal everyone is chasing. Even after reading this, you're probably thinking, "this is what I thought I've always been doing?" And you likely have, to an extent, but not nearly as optimized as you could. Which, unfortunately, is probably causing you to "spin your wheels" with progress. This may sound harsh, but if you look roughly the same or worse as you did ~3-6 months ago, you're spinning your wheels. It's OK, though! Everyone goes through this period and has to learn the hard way. You need to be more intentional with your goals, and that's what I'm here for. If you're more serious/experienced, you are likely either cutting (prioritizing fat loss) or bulking (prioritizing muscle gain), and alternating cycles between each. E.g., cutting for summer, then bulking during winter. This strategy works, but is outdated for "normal folks" and more suitable for more advanced trainees, like elite level bodybuilders or athletes. They workout almost daily, and have entire years mapped out with their diet and exercise, periodized down to the week. For them, this is necessary, and they wouldn't respond well to trying to do both at the same time. If this is you, hey, keep at it! If not, you're likely in one of two camps:
Both are leaving SO much progress on the table, working harder than necessary for worse results. Again, don't get down ⏤ I've been there and most other people are in the same boat without realizing. The good news is that you're now aware of it. The better news is that you can disrupt old patterns and unlock tons of unrealized gains. Here's why that's possible if you do it correctly... Your 2 body composition "bank accounts": muscle tissue and fat tissue Many people incorrectly assume that "fat can be turned into muscle" or vice versa. That's not how it works. Muscle tissue and fat tissue are two separate systems. So imagine each as a separate bank account. (H/t Jeff Nippard for this.) We can withdraw money from the fat bank account by using a "smart" calorie deficit, i.e., not too big or too small of a deficit. While simultaneously depositing money into the muscle building account through intelligent strength training and eating enough protein at the right times. You can guarantee this outcome more by optimizing things like nutrient timing around workouts, stress management, supplements, and sleep. To be clear, this is more difficult. It requires a precise approach built for you and your body, plus weekly consistency and ongoing adjustments. But it is possible, and the payoff is huge. (See what I did there?) Oh, and if you want to review the science to back this up and double check me, see HERE, HERE, and HERE. Is the body recomposition approach right for you? There are about four different types of people who will benefit the most from this approach.
And if you overlap between two or more of those, that means you're an excellent candidate for this. Two additional types of people who I've successfully coached using these methods are people who would identify as "skinny fat" or people who have hit a plateau and can't seem to bust past it no matter what they try. If any of these feel like you, body recomp is definitely worth trying out. Ok, I'm going to cut it here. Now you know what body recomposition is, how it's possible, and who it's for. Join us Here in our private FB community to catch the key components of a successful recomp. You won't want to miss it. Talk to you then. -Kayli P.S. Any questions? Just comment below. |
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