It's that time of the year... weather getting colder, nights getting longer, and energy levels dropping. 

If you notice your overall mood, energy, and motivation changing with the season, you may be experiencing seasonal affective disorder (SAD). 

What is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)?

According to the Mayo Clinic, Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. For most, symptoms of SAD begin in the fall and continue on through the winter months. Less commonly, some find that their symptoms show up during the spring and summertime. 

Symptoms of SAD include

• Feeling listless, sad, or down most of the day, nearly every day
• Losing interest in activities you once enjoyed
• Having low energy and feeling sluggish
• Having problems with sleeping too much
• Experiencing carbohydrate cravings, overeating, and weight gain
• Having difficulty concentrating
• Feeling hopeless, worthless or guil
...

Holiday Season is upon us… how to stay healthy In a world revolving around food.

Its that time of year again! Holiday goodies are everywhere you look, parties are every other day, and sweater season is a joyous time to hide our binge worthy gains. It is important to unlearn the unhealthy society behaviors over the most joyous time of the year in order to be successful all year round.

Here are a few tools I use to help overcome challenges and temptations during the holiday season.

Need vs. Want

The most important thing to remember while trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle is simply this:

“We do not live to eat, we eat to live.”

In today's society our lives very much revolve around food. Getting together with friends, family BBQ, celebrating an event or holiday, going out on the weekends, vacation, essentially everything we do on a daily basis has one main focus; Food. In many ways we stopped caring about the nutrition of the food we are consuming, and have become more interes...

Fall is here, which means so is #PSL season! According to Starbucks' website, a grande pumpkin spice latte with 2 percent milk and whipped cream is 380 calories. This includes 14 grams of fat, 52 gram of carbs, and 50 grams of sugar. Don't get me wrong, we all love a good pumpkin spice latte, but they are not the best option when you are trying to keep your calories (and sugar) down.

Let's cut the calories, fats, AND sugars down a bit... and then up the protein content, shall we? 

Here is what you'll need:

Ingredients

• ¼ Cup Canned pumpkin puree
• ½ Medium banana sliced (preferably frozen)
• ½ Cup Vanilla Greek yogurt
• ¼ Teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• ½ Scoop Level-1 Protein Pumpkin Spice Latte
• ¼ Cup Almond milk
• optional garnish: light whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice

Instructions

1. Place the pumpkin puree, banana, Greek yogurt, pumpkin pie spice, protein powder, and almond milk in a blender.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour into a glass and serve, topped with whipped cream and pu
...

Who is Rylie?

Hello, my name is Rylie Scheff. I am a 28-year-old substance abuse counselor with two dog babies and a fiancé at home. I am a positive beacon of light that helps others believe they can do things others have said they can not. I work hard to bring positivity to a world full of darkness and provide help for those who need it the most.

Tell us about your journey with Okon Fitness

As many people did during the pandemic, I started to realize something was missing from my life, and that "something" was me! I am always taking care of others so for a long long time, I stopped taking care of myself. I came to this realization that my life was morphing into the life of my fiancé. His friends were my friends, his hobbies were my hobbies, and I woke up one morning and said WOAH WOAH WOAH I need to find myself again. I needed to be reminded of who I was, what I enjoyed, what I looked for out of life, and what I wanted to continue to grow into. When I was in college one of my bes...

Who doesn't love a healthy pancake recipe?? When wanting to follow a healthier diet, we tend to miss out on some of our favorites foods. However, if you can get a little creative you can still enjoy the things we may think we shouldn't indulge in, but healthier!

This is on of my favorite recipes I have been using over the last 5 years — AND it is quick and easy.  I remember sitting and looking at my eggs and protein powder, wondering how I could make something other than just eggs and shake... and with a little leg work, i figured out how to do exactly that.

If you’re looking for a way to make your breakfast more enjoyable this can easily be made to hit the spot, and stop those pancake fantasies, lol. 

I use walden farms sugar free syrup or any sugar free syrup (in moderation) with some nut butter! Great way to stick to healthier eating while also enjoying what you put your mouth. 

This recipe is a single-serving pancake mix with only 365 calories! The best part? They also have a...

Who is James?

I'm a home healthcare contractor from Lincoln Nebraska.

What made you want to start your fitness journey?

I've struggled with weight since I was a child. At my worst, I got up to over 450lbs (5xl shirts and 50+ waist pants) in my 20's and 30's. I had been trying to get things under control but was never able to truly commit to change. Around November of 2019, I started feeling the health consequences of my size and decided I needed to do something real. At this point, I was too out of shape to do much in the way of physical exercise, so I started working on a calorie-counting diet. Over the next year, I was able to lose enough weight to introduce exercise into my journey. At this point, I started looking to social media to find fitness influencers for inspiration and direction.

Looking for a delicious recipe that is quick and easy? This is a great recipe for a lazy baker lol. Also, a great morning muffin to grab on the go!

Equipment Needed

• 12-cup muffin tin
• Muffin cups
• Mixing bowl
• Oven

Ingredients

1. 3 bananas
2. 3 eggs
3. 1 tbsp honey
4. 1 tsp vanilla extract
5. 1 3/4 cup almond flour
6. 1 tsp baking soda
7. 1/2 tsp baking powder
8. Pinch salt
9. 1/2 tsp cinnamon
10. 2 scoops of protein powder (I use 1stPhorm Level-1)
11. 1/3 cup nut butter
12. Chocolate chips (Chocolate chips are a good option, for healthier muffins leave them out)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and place muffin cups in a muffin tin (I sprayed them with Pam to be sure they didn’t stick).
2. In a large bowl, mash bananas until no big chunks are left, mix in honey, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk well.
3. Add in almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, protein powder, and cinnamon. Mix well.
4. Fold in chocolate chips + almond butter, once mixed you’re ready to bake!!
5. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full, bake f
...

This is one of my FAV treats — quick and easy. If you’re looking for a way to make your oatmeal more enjoyable this can be used as a treat or a meal replacement (maybe without all the chocolate lol)

This recipe makes 10 bars, depending on the pan you use, each with only 275 calories! The best part? They also have nearly 15 grams of protein per bar! 

Bar Ingredients

• 3 cups quick oats
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 scoop protein (I like to use 1stPhorm Level-1)

Frosting Ingredients (optional)

• 1/2 cup semi-sweet morsels

Instructions

1. Mix oats and protein powder.
2. Add peanut butter and honey.
3. Mix until all ingredients are blended.

Frosting Instructions

1. Melt semi-sweet morsels.
2. Add melted morsels on top of the mixture.
3. Refrigerate until chocolate is hard.
4. Enjoy!

Macros

Serving size: 1 bar | makes 10 total 

Macros without morsels: 275 calories per bar
14 fat | 31 carbs | 12 protein

Macros with morsels: 314 calories per bar
16f | 36 carbs | 12 prote...

Who is Ashley?

I'm Ashley, a full-time gymnastics coach, single mother, fitness lover & skincare consultant.

What made you want to start your fitness journey?

I was tired of being miserable in my own skin. Being an athlete my entire life, I knew how it felt to "feel good" and wanted to feel that way constantly. I was tired all the time & with working with athletes, I needed to be present and also felt like I should look the part and set a good example of what a healthy lifestyle looked like. I wanted my daughter to see what health looked like as well and lead a good example for her.

What inspires you most?

Growth inspires me. To see where I have come from in the past 5 years is incredible and gives me motivation. Growth and Change have been something that has been uncomfortable for me in the past. I never would have thought I would have made it this far in my fitness journey and I know it has only made me a better, happier person. I'm excited to see what growth happens in the ...

"I don't want to get BULKY or BIG, I put on muscle quickly"...this is a pretty big misconception when it comes to muscle building. If I had a dollar for every time I have heard someone say they put on muscle really fast, 1) I would be fairly rich 2) we would have WAY more bodybuilders walking around, lol real talk. 

The reality (for majority of the population), putting on lean mass takes a lot of time, and I hate to say it, but people who think they can be a bodybuilder or super muscular in under 6 months, is either delusional, or misinformed. 

So, let's break this down with some science and actual research. 

Building muscle is a slow process, relatively speaking, and with proper nutrition and smart training a natural athlete could put on between 8-15 pounds of muscle within 1 year, keep in mind every person is different and results may vary. That is a pretty realistic number. Since muscle growth will rarely exceed even 1/3 of a pound in one day and there are only 800 calories in 1 ...