ANP Fitness and Nutrition

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ANP Fitness and Nutrition

Customized fitness programming tailored to your fitness needs.

ANP Fitness and Nutrition Coaching

Offers accountability/support for your nutrition and/or fitness goals
Providing calories and/or macronutrients specific to your health and wellness goals.

06/04/2025

Let’s clear up one of the most stubborn fitness myths out there — lifting heavy weights will make you bulky.

This fear often holds women back from the very thing that will help them look and feel lean, confident, and strong.
So let’s break it down:

Muscle vs. fat: what actually makes you feel “bulky”?

Feeling bulky is often not about having too much muscle — it’s about carrying excess body fat. Muscle is dense and takes up less space than fat. When you strength train and build lean muscle mass, your body becomes more compact, not bigger. You actually get tighter, more toned, and shapelier.

The idea that women will suddenly “bulk up” from lifting heavy is also misleading because:

Women don’t produce enough testosterone naturally to build muscle the way men do.

Gaining noticeable muscle size requires years of progressive overload, consistent eating in a surplus, and often intentional muscle-building protocols.

Lifting weights = faster metabolism

Building lean muscle through strength training increases your resting metabolic rate (BMR).
That means:
You burn more calories while doing absolutely nothing.
For every pound of muscle you gain, you can burn an estimated 30–50 more calories per day — just by existing. Over time, that adds up significantly in your fat loss journey.

Cardio burns calories during the session.
Lifting weights changes your metabolism long-term.

Muscle is what gives your body shape and curves. Without it, weight loss just results in a smaller, softer version of the same shape. With it, your body becomes sculpted, strong, and defined.

You can’t “tone” what you haven’t built.
Tone = muscle + low enough body fat to reveal it.

Lifting heavy doesn’t make you masculine. It makes you capable.It makes everyday tasks easier. It helps regulate hormones, supports bone density, improves insulin sensitivity, and makes fat loss more sustainable.
If your goal is fat loss or a more “toned” look, strength training should be your number one priority.
Challenge your muscles. Build lean mass. Boost your metabolism.

05/30/2025

📉 Still blaming your metabolism for midlife weight gain? It’s time to rethink that.

We’ve been fed the “slow metabolism” myth for decades. Magazines, books, and the entire diet industry have taught us to fear the big bad metabolism slowdown—especially after 30 or during menopause.

But the science? It tells a different story.

🔬 A major study of over 6,000 people found that metabolism doesn’t decline significantly from age 20 to 60. That’s right—your “resting” calorie burn stays relatively steady through those decades.

So if metabolism isn’t the villain... what is?

👉 The real culprits:

⚠️Hormonal shifts during perimenopause and menopause

⚠️Increased insulin resistance

⚠️A decline in muscle protein synthesis (making it harder to build/maintain muscle)

⚠️Higher cortisol levels

⚠️Changes in fat distribution

These are the changes that impact how your body feels, moves, and stores energy—not some mythical metabolic crash.

💪 So what does matter?

✔️Lifting heavy and building muscle

✔️Smart, short cardio like sprint intervals

✔️Prioritizing protein

✔️Managing stress

✔️Working with your changing physiology

You don’t need to “fix your metabolism.” You need to support your body as it evolves.

Want help doing that? DM me “METABOLISM” and I’ll show you how I help women shift from frustration to feeling strong, energized, and in control again.

Source: Pontzer et al., 2021, Science
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abe5017

05/01/2025

Ever feel like you’re constantly picking yourself back up after things derail?

Maybe it’s a weekend of overindulgence...
A chaotic week where your routine vanished...
Or a stressful season where your health took the back seat.

Here’s what I want you to know:
You don’t need to start over.
You need to keep going—imperfectly.

Trying to be “all-in” all the time sets you up to feel like a failure when life gets messy (which it always does). And that “I’ll start fresh Monday” mindset? It keeps you stuck in a loop of extremes.

💡 The real solution is building habits that are flexible, not flawless.
💡 Learning how to pivot, not punish.
💡 Choosing the next best step—not scrapping the whole plan.

Momentum comes from consistency, not perfection.

Let’s focus less on starting over…
And more on starting where you are, again and again.

04/18/2025

Jumping into another diet might be the reason you’re stuck.
If you never give your body time to settle and restore, future fat loss phases won’t work the way you want.

One of my clients is a perfect example of doing it right.

She started around 145 pounds—burnt out from yo-yo dieting, unsure how to fuel herself, and ready to try a new approach. We built out a plan using intentional cuts and true maintenance phases.

No crash diets. No shortcuts. Just smart strategy, consistency, and a shift in mindset.

She didn’t panic when the scale moved slow.
She didn’t quit when things got tough.
She tracked. She recovered. She trained with purpose.

She’s now sitting at 130 pounds—feeling strong, confident, and in control.

But we didn’t stop there. We’re currently in a maintenance phase again, this time with a new goal: build lean muscle, reinforce habits, and continue optimizing body composition.

She’s not done. She’s leveling up.

👉 We didn’t diet endlessly.
👉 We used maintenance to restore, refuel, and protect her results.
👉 That’s how she reached her goal—and how she’ll keep it.

If you’re feeling stuck, ask yourself:
🟡 Have I truly committed to maintenance?
🟡 Am I hitting my macros consistently?
🟡 Am I rushing into another cut out of frustration?

Each phase has a purpose. Diet. Maintain. Build.
When you follow the plan with intention, your body responds.
You don’t need to live in a deficit to change your body—you need a strategy that works with it.

Drop a 🙌 if you’re ready to get off the diet rollercoaster and do it the right way.

Coaching Inquires: ANPFitnessandNutrition.com

03/21/2025

⚡️ This isn’t a “don’t do cardio” message. ⚡️
Cardio has its benefits—improving endurance, heart health, and burning calories—but it’s not the only tool you need. The real focus should be on building muscle.

🏋️‍♀️ While cardio helps with fitness and burns some calories, muscle-building has a bigger impact on strength, metabolism, and overall health. It takes time, effort, and consistency, but it’s incredibly rewarding.

When you combine strength training with cardio and fuel both with the right nutrition, you’re creating a powerful formula for success.

Don’t just burn—build. 🔥

02/25/2025

Mastering Nutrition ON THE GO!

Swipe for 5 helpful ways to fuel your hustle.

# mealprep

02/05/2025

Sound Familiar?

Your body is incredibly smart. If you’ve been in a calorie deficit for too long, it will start to adapt—slowing down your metabolism and making fat loss harder and harder.

👉 Have you been experiencing any of this?

Fat loss has slowed down or completely stalled.

You feel weaker, and building muscle seems impossible.

Low energy levels, poor sleep, or irregular cycles are becoming your norm.

Eating too few calories for too long can lead to:
🚫 Muscle loss
🚫 Hormonal imbalances
🚫 Nutrient deficiencies

✨ It doesn’t have to be this way. ✨

Optimizing your metabolic health:
✅ Gradually increase your calories to repair and rebuild your metabolism.
✅ Prioritize protein and nutrient-dense foods to support muscle growth and hormonal balance.
✅ Incorporate strength training to build lean muscle and improve metabolic efficiency.
✅ Improve sleep, stress management, and recovery to reset your body.
✅ Tailor your nutrition plan to match your goals, activity level, and unique needs.

If this sounds all too familiar, it’s time to change the plan.

Want to optimize your metabolic health, balance your hormones, and build a sustainable approach that works for your body? Want to finally see results and feel amazing?

📩 DM me to get started!
Let’s create a plan that helps you thrive.

01/27/2025

✨ What if you could transform your health, confidence, and energy in just over a year? ✨

🌟 Client Spotlight: When she started coaching with me, she was at her highest weight—feeling frustrated. She tried everything: IF, WW, Peloton workouts, and eating “healthy.” Nothing worked, she kept gaining. Doctors told her to eat less/burn more calories, but that left her hungry all the time.

Then she noticed someone who had worked with me and achieved an impressive transformation. She thought, “I’ve tried everything else—why not give this a shot?”

🔥 Her Journey So Far: Started with resistance training, shifting focus from cardio to building strength and boosting her metabolism.She learned how much protein, carbs, and fats her body needed to fuel her goals—not just survive.

After six months in a calorie deficit, she hit a diet plateau and began experiencing diet fatigue. Instead of pushing harder, we shifted gears to focus on metabolic recovery. Through a reverse diet, she gradually increased her calories while maintaining her progress.

Here’s what she had to say about the process:
“I’m now eating more calories than I did before I started this journey, and I’ve learned how to eat smarter. My workouts focus on weight training instead of endless Peloton rides, and I get cardio in through something I actually enjoy—pickleball! I feel stronger and healthier.

Having someone guide me through the ups and downs, who genuinely cares about the bigger picture of my health, has made all the difference. I’ve learned the importance of recovery, rest, and fueling my body properly. It’s not just about losing weight—it’s about building habits for life.”

🔥 Results:
~She has reduced her body fat from 46% to 36%, a 22% overall reduction!
~She has lost 30lbs while eating more food than before.
~Her clothes fit looser and her confidence is in a great place.

💡Your Turn: Imagine what you could achieve with a plan tailored to your needs, a coach to guide you, and strategies that focus on the bigger picture of health.

💭What’s holding you back from reaching your goals? Let’s tackle it together—drop it in the comments or reach out privately.

01/21/2025

Every meal is a choice, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of picking the quickest, easiest, and most delicious option. The problem is, those choices are often high in calories and low in nutrients, leaving us unsatisfied in the long run. Eating out, which has become less of a luxury and more of a regular part of life, can make it even harder to stay on track.

When we consistently choose calorie-dense meals without paying attention to portion sizes or nutritional value, it can quickly add up — even if we’re trying to stick to a balanced plan. What starts as a well-intended week of eating can quickly derail, leaving us feeling frustrated or stuck.

Being mindful of the calories and nutrients in our meals is key to enjoying what we eat while staying aligned with our goals. It’s all about finding balance and making choices that support both our enjoyment and long-term health. 🌱

01/15/2025

Over the past 10 years, my body has seen incredible changes—from building muscle to navigating life as a mom of 3! Wondering how I stayed consistent through every season? Let me share.

These photos remind me of growing life while prioritizing my own health. Training through 3 pregnancies wasn’t easy, but it was empowering. I wanted to show myself—and my kids—that our bodies can do amazing things when cared for with consistency.

Tracking my progress through every stage—pregnancy, postpartum, or the daily grind, helped me stay intentional. It allowed me to adjust fitness and nutrition goals while embracing the beautiful chaos of motherhood.

💡 Here’s how YOU can start tracking and transforming your health today:

1️⃣ START TODAY: Commit to 10 minutes a day and build from there. Remind yourself you matter.

2️⃣ SET GOALS: Break goals into smaller weekly or monthly wins to keep moving forward.

3️⃣ MAKE A PLAN: Know your exercises, track reps/weights, and push harder each session!

4️⃣ MAKE TIME: Choose health over excuses. Find a time that works and stick with it.

5️⃣ FOCUS ON NUTRITION: Track your intake, adjust macros, and get back on track after slip-ups.

6️⃣ BE PATIENT: It’s not a sprint. Take progress pics, record strength gains, and celebrate small wins.

💬 What’s ONE thing you’ll track this week? Share below or DM me if you’re ready to take control of your health!

01/10/2025

DON’T BE FOOLED by the scale! 🚫‼️

We’ve all been there- that frustrating moment when the scale refuses to budge, making us feel like our progress has hit a roadblock. But this doesn’t mean the end of the road. ⚠️

Sometimes there are sneaky variables at play that can hide your incredible success and keep you feeling stuck and while the scale may temporarily stall, your body could still be transforming in incredible ways.

If your goal is fat loss, then it’s important to understand that it’s not always a linear path. It’s often filled with twists, turns and occasional plateaus. But that doesn’t mean you’re stuck! 📉

Before jumping into unnecessary drastic measures like further restricting calories, take a moment to consider if any of the above could be factors affecting your progress.

01/08/2025

Change requires time and patience, and it’s not until you replace the old habits with the new ones that you will succeed.

It’s about making small changes to your lifestyle that add up over time, and then sticking with those changes until they become habits.

Once these habits are ingrained in your life, it becomes easier for you to maintain your results for years to come.

If you want to learn more about evidence based approaches for sustainable fat loss, DM me.

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Hamilton, ON

Website

http://Anpfitnessandnutrition.com/

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Melissa Mascio, Speech-Language Pathologist
16 Harlowe Road
Waterbirth Coalition of Canada

About

Want to lose weight, build muscle, boost energy levels or just have a more balanced healthy lifestyle?

My coaching offers flexible nutrition to meet your unique needs while focusing on positive lifestyle changes to help you achieve and sustain your long term goals.

ANP FITNESS & NUTRITION: Builds fitness into your life without it taking over your life. Allows you to eat foods you enjoy, confidently. Helps identify stressors that may inhibit your ability to make healthy decisions. Helps you replace habits that may be keeping you from your goals.