12th State Nutrition

12th State Nutrition 12th State Nutrition is not a “diet.” Simple steps with personal accountability for long term success

02/25/2026

What does a nutrition coach eat for dinner? 🍔

Sunday night at the house: Christina and I making smash burgers because sometimes you just want a really good burger, and that's totally fine.

Here's how we keep it plate-ish without overthinking it:

🥬 Tons of veggies on the side (veggies: check)
🥩 Good lean ground beef (protein: check)
🍞 Wrap or bread (mindful carbs: check)
🍷 Wine instead of bread ....(living life: check)

No guilt. No "cheat meal" mentality. Just a simple dinner that we both actually want to eat.

This is what sustainable nutrition looks like - it includes burgers on Sunday night with your spouse, and it doesn't require an apology or a promise to "be better tomorrow" 🎯

The plate-ish approach works because it's flexible enough for real life. Even when real life includes homemade smash burgers ✨

02/20/2026

The person who sent you this reel doesn't want you to give up on your 2026 health goals 💙

Maybe you started strong in January and now you're feeling behind.

Maybe you've tried and "failed" so many times you're not sure it's worth trying again.

Maybe you're comparing your week 3 to someone else's year 3.

Here's what they want you to know:
Progress isn't linear. Some weeks you'll nail it. Some weeks you'll eat takeout four times and call it survival mode. Both are part of the journey 📈
You don't have to start over. You just have to start again. Right now. With your next meal. With your next choice 🍽️

Small, consistent actions beat perfect plans that you can't maintain. Half-hearted mindfulness goes a long way when it happens regularly 🎯

The goal isn't to be perfect for 365 days. It's to build habits that work for your real life, with all its messiness and beautiful chaos ✨

Someone believes in you. Someone sees your potential. Someone wants you to succeed.

Keep going. You're worth the effort 💪

02/19/2026

What does starting with 12th State Nutrition actually look like? 🤔
Here's your onboarding process, step by step

Week 1: Discovery call to see if we're a good fit. No sales pressure, just honest conversation about your goals and our approach 📞

Week 2: One-on-one strategy session. We dig into your current routine, your biggest challenges, and what success looks like for YOU. This isn't generic advice - it's your personalized roadmap 🗺️

Week 3: We start building habits that fit your real life. Maybe it's adding vegetables to meals you're already eating. Maybe it's planning snacks so you stop grazing all afternoon. Small changes, big impact 🎯

Ongoing: Thursday check-ins via text. Quick, supportive, and consistent.

No complicated tracking apps. No meal plans that require 3 hours of Sunday prep. No one-size-fits-all approach that ignores your actual life.
Just practical guidance, genuine support, and accountability that actually works ✨

02/16/2026

You think you want to get healthy to look good in photos 📸⁠
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But that's not why you stay committed to your health journey.⁠
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You stay because you want to keep up with your kids at the playground without getting winded 🏃‍♂️⁠
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You stay because you want to feel confident in your own skin, not just in your clothes 💪⁠
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You stay because you're tired of afternoon energy crashes affecting your work performance 🔋⁠
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You stay because you want to model healthy habits for your family, not just talk about them 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦⁠
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You stay because good nutrition makes everything else in your life easier - better sleep, clearer thinking, more patience with the people you love 😴⁠
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You stay because you realize this isn't about being perfect. It's about being present ✨⁠
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The vanity goals get you started. But the life goals keep you going.⁠
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When you connect your nutrition to what really matters - your energy, your family, your ability to show up fully for your life - that's when sustainable change happens 🎯⁠
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02/15/2026

Plot twist: Your nutrition coach buys prepared meals 🛒

Here's me grabbing pre-made options for the week because sometimes meal planning matters more than meal prepping.

I don't spend 3 hours every Sunday chopping vegetables and portioning everything into identical containers. Sometimes I buy the pre-cut veggies. Sometimes I grab prepared meat. Sometimes I pick up a few prepared meals that hit my plate-ish goals 🎯

The key isn't doing everything from scratch. It's having a PLAN for the week:
✅ Knowing where your protein is coming from
✅ Having vegetables readily available
✅ Planning your snacks instead of grazing
✅ Making sure you're set up for success when you're busy

Meal prep purists might judge me, but my clients get results because they learn to work WITH their real life, not against it 📈

Convenience foods can absolutely support your goals. The best nutrition plan is the one you'll actually follow ✨

02/13/2026

When I first started coaching, I realized we had a problem 📊
Everyone wanted to know: "How do I measure if I'm actually making progress?" And honestly, the scale wasn't cutting it. Neither was obsessive food tracking or taking progress photos every week.

That's how "Plate-ish for the day" was born 💡

Instead of handing them a complicated meal plan, I ask one simple question at the end of each day:
"Was today plate-ish?"
Did you get some vegetables? ✅
Did you eat adequate protein? ✅
Were you mindful about your carbs? ✅
Did you plan your snacks instead of grazing all day? ✅
Did you drink enough water? ✅

Five components. Yes or no answers. No weighing, no measuring, no guilt if it wasn't perfect.

The magic happens when someone texts me after three weeks: "I had four plate-ish days this week!"

That's measurable progress that actually matters. Not because they hit some arbitrary calorie target, but because they built sustainable habits they can see and feel working in their real life.

Simple tracking that focuses on what you DID, not what you didn't do. That's how lasting change actually happens 🎯

02/12/2026

The sign I wish was hanging in my nutrition office: "Half-a$$ed mindfulness goes a long-a$$ way." 🤣

I know, I know. That doesn't sound like the inspiration you see every day. But here's the deal - I'd rather you do something imperfectly than do nothing perfectly.

You think you need to meal prep for 3 hours on Sunday to be successful? Nope. Grab some pre-cut veggies from the grocery store.

Think you need to drink 128 ounces of water perfectly spaced throughout the day? Nah. Just drink a glass before each meal. Boom. Done.

Think you need to turn down every single social invitation to stay "on track"? Please. Order the grilled chicken instead of fried and call it a win.

The nutrition police aren't coming for you if you don't execute everything flawlessly. Progress beats perfection every single time, and a little bit of effort consistently will get you further than sporadic bursts of trying to be perfect.

So give me your half-assed mindfulness. I'll take it all day long over your stressed-out perfectionism that lasts exactly 4 days.

Planned snacks are a central tenet of our Plate-ish philosophy, so save this one when you need to plan your next trip to...
02/12/2026

Planned snacks are a central tenet of our Plate-ish philosophy, so save this one when you need to plan your next trip to Costco! ⁠

👍Your rule of thumb: Planned snacks should be 100-200 calories and contain at least 3g of protein.
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Here are some of my clients' other go-to high-protein snacks that make nutrition easy when life gets busy:⁠
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• Greek yogurt cups - The individual ones are perfect for grab-and-go. 15-20g protein each. Throw some berries on top if you're feeling fancy.⁠
• String cheese - Classic for a reason. Keeps forever, travels well, and pairs perfectly with an apple when you need something more substantial.⁠
• Hard-boiled eggs - Buy the pre-cooked ones if you want. Yes, they cost more. No, I don't care. Time is money, and convenience wins.⁠
• Nuts and seeds - Get the big containers and portion them into smaller bags. Almonds, walnuts, pistachios. Easy protein and healthy fats.⁠
• Protein bars - Find ones you actually like. Life's too short for cardboard bars. Look for at least 15g protein and ingredients you can pronounce.⁠
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The goal isn't perfection. It's having better options readily available when you're hungry and in a hurry. Because the best snack is the one you'll actually eat when you need it.⁠
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02/11/2026

After 8,000+ body composition measures, here's what I've learned about measuring real progress 📊

The scale will drive you crazy. But body composition? That tells the whole story.

02/09/2026

Eating out doesn't have to undo your progress. But I get why it feels that way 👉 some meals out have thousands of calories!

Here's the thing: one restaurant meal doesn't erase a week of good habits. Your overall pattern is what drives your results, not that one dinner out.
So let's make eating out work FOR you, because it's inevitable, even if it's not the norm:

🥗 Plan ahead when you can. Check the menu online. Know what you're leaning toward before you sit down. Takes the pressure off and helps you make choices that align with your goals.
🥦 Eat vegetables when they're available. Side salad instead of fries? Great. Extra veggies on your sandwich? Even better. It doesn't have to be perfect, just intentional.
🍞 Be mindful of carbs and added sugars. You don't have to avoid them completely, but maybe skip the bread basket if you're ordering pasta. Or choose one sweet thing instead of three.

Don't make restaurant eating your daily pattern. Once or twice a week? No problem. Every day? That's when it becomes harder to reach your goals.
The plate-ish approach works everywhere. Half your plate focused on vegetables when possible, some protein, mindful carbs. Whether you're at home or at that new place everyone's talking about.

Your social life doesn't have to suffer for your health goals. And your health goals don't have to suffer for your social life.

02/06/2026

The lies we tell ourselves about nutrition are loud. And convincing. And they keep us stuck.

Sound familiar? Here's what I know after years of coaching: these thoughts feel true, but they're not helping you get where you want to go. 🤔

The truth is, you CAN enjoy pizza night with your family and still reach your goals. You CAN start building better habits right now, exactly where you are. And you CAN make changes that work for your household without turning everyone's world upside down.

🤸‍♂️ But sometimes you need someone in your corner who believes in you more than you believe in yourself right now. Someone who's seen this work for hundreds of people just like you. Someone who knows the difference between what feels impossible and what actually is impossible.

That's what we do. We help you see past the lies that keep you stuck and focus on what actually moves the needle. Because the voice in your head telling you it won't work? It's been wrong before.

You're more capable than you think. You just need the right support to prove it to yourself. ✨

02/06/2026

The lies we tell ourselves about nutrition are loud. And convincing. And they keep us stuck.⁠
⁠
Sound familiar? Here’s what I know after years of coaching: these thoughts feel true, but they’re not helping you get where you want to go. 🤔⁠
⁠
The truth is, you CAN enjoy pizza night with your family and still reach your goals. You CAN start building better habits right now, exactly where you are. And you CAN make changes that work for your household without turning everyone’s world upside down.⁠
⁠
🤸‍♂️ But sometimes you need someone in your corner who believes in you more than you believe in yourself right now. Someone who’s seen this work for hundreds of people just like you. Someone who knows the difference between what feels impossible and what actually is impossible.⁠
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That’s what we do. We help you see past the lies that keep you stuck and focus on what actually moves the needle. Because the voice in your head telling you it won’t work? It’s been wrong before.⁠
⁠
You’re more capable than you think. You just need the right support to prove it to yourself. ✨⁠
⁠

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807 Hodges Street
Raleigh, NC
27608

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