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BrainsforBrawn, Edmonton, AB (2026)

01/09/2022

Nothing much to see here. Just a couple bodies doing what bodies are supposed to do.🦛🦍 Kirsten Mark

01/07/2022

From 1441 calories/day to ~2000/day, and definitely ready for the wedding🙏.

REPOST ••• I don’t normally make posts like this, but I felt my coach deserved a little recognition.

The picture on the left is from January 2021…..I went to Brendan because I was spinning my tires and I knew I wanted to fix that before my wedding.

The picture on the right is from last Saturday, November 6.

I can’t thank him enough for everything he has taught me, the encouragement, and motivation.

People ask me “how much are you eating?” My God, more food than I ever have. The first thing Brendan did was jack up my caloric intake.

“What do you eat?” Literally anything I want….Lucky Charms daily. 🤤

“Do you drink?” Lol probably more than I should…everyone knows I wouldn’t give up my wine. 🍷

“How much cardio do you do?” None! A 5minute warm up and cool down walk.

“How much do you workout?” When I want to…which is 5-6 days a week but that’s only because it’s my choice.

Brendan, I can’t thank you enough….I definitely feel beach wedding ready! 🙏🏻

01/06/2022

Hey…

If the scale hasn’t dropped this week, it’s not necessarily because you didn’t drink enough water.

It’s not necessarily because you got less sleep than normal.

It’s not necessarily because you had that extra piece of pie at family dinner.

It’s not necessarily because on Monday you walked 7k steps instead of your usual 10.

It’s not necessarily because you cut your peloton workout short by 5 minutes because your hip was sore.

It’s not necessarily because you had a cold, and spent 2 days cuddled up on the couch with nothing but Gatorade and chicken noodle soup.

It’s not necessarily…anything at all.

There doesn’t NEED to be something to blame.

Because even on a week when conditions are perfect, and you absolutely smash every target, your weight may not move. Heck, it may even go up.

And that’s the reality of transformation.

Whether we’re focused on weight loss (or weight gain, for that matter), the process will not be a linear one.

That’s a promise I can keep.

And who knows. Maybe there is a culprit. Something to “blame” for the lack of progress or marginal regression.

But it’s more likely that your body is behaving exactly the way it should. Exactly the way all bodies do.

Carrying out 37 thousand billion billion chemical reactions per second.

No, that was not a hyperbole - that’s for real. [37 with twenty one 0’s after it.]

Per second.

And we’re over here serving ourselves a helping of shame because our body decided to retain a little more water than we wanted it to. Or because it gives us a little pushback when we’re forcing a compositional change.

Rather selfish, we are. Rather mean, we are.

So no, your weight didn’t get “stuck” because you had a hot dog at your sons birthday party.

Your body is just being a body. And thank gosh, for that.🙏

12/27/2021

A message to everyone who woke up feeling saturated not only with chocolates and wine, but with a helping of guilt as well:

I understand.

You’ve been working damn hard to better yourself and it feels like you just took 5 steps backward.

Or maybe you haven’t quite started your journey to a healthier you, but you feel like you just sprinted another few miles away from the destination.

And before you convince yourself that the best plan of action is to either A. Punish yourself by not eating and/or doing a couple hours of cardio today or B. Wallow in shame and smash another box of chocolates because “f**k it, I already ruined everything,” give me a chance to change the way you think.

Regardless of your individual situation, the good news is, your health and fitness journey is a lifelong pursuit.

It’s not a 30 day promotion.

It’s not a 12 week sprint.

It’s not even a 5 year trek.

It goes on from now until ever. Until your heart stops beating. [Woah, way to make it dark, Brendan.]

But seriously. It doesn’t end. The target might change now and again, but fitness and health is not a process that can be “finished.”

And I find a lot of peace in that.

Because, who cares if I gain a couple pounds here, and lose a couple there.

Who cares if this season I’m a little fluffy and next season I’m a little lean.

The road keeps going. You always have time to move the needle in either direction.

Over the course of a 50+ year journey…what’s a couple days? What’s a fun evening with family where you indulge in some extra sweets and have one too maybe rum and eggnogs?

It’s nothing. It’s not even a blip on the radar.

You didn’t move backwards. You didn’t “ruin all your progress.”

You’re still moving forward, along your lifelong pursuit.

Now, the only way we can truly start to move the charts in the opposite direction is if we grab hold of these holidays tendencies and…make them habits.

Living in a constant state of, “it’s okay, I can get back on track next week.”

But that’s not you.

You’re not going to punish yourself this week. And you’re not going to sit in front of the TV and eat every last Lindor in the neighbourhood.

Instead, you’re going to care for yourself.

You’re going to shower your mind with grace and continue to nourish your body.

The gym will always be a block away. Chocolates will always be on the store shelves.

Your family. Your friends. Your chances to make these memories will not be.

So before you look in the mirror, and start spewing some negative self-talk about how ashamed you are, let me ask you this:

What would you say to your best friend? Your mom? Your sister? The person you love most on the entire planet, if they were the one struggling today?

Yea, that’s what I thought you’d say.

Now go. Carry on.

Your lifelong pursuit is only just beginning.

03/07/2021

And, not even once, have we reduced calories.

Not. Even. Once.

It really is incredible what your body can do when conditions are optimal.

Yes, YOUR body.

I’ve been doing this a long time, and potential clients always approach with “I know this seems to work for all your other clients, but I’m scared my body just won’t do it. If I eat more food, I’m going to gain fat. I know it.”
..and then they’re left in a state of disbelief when they eat more food, and start to lean out.

And I think it’s tough to understand from the outside looking in, because in the past when you’ve “eaten more food and gained weight,” you’re most likely thinking of times when you were bingeing or over eating for an extended period.

Like a period of emotional eating due to a bad breakup.

Or times when you’ve been surrounded by food during the holidays and lost control for weeks on end.

And, generally, during these times our activity level is also lower, further amplifying the speed of the weight gain.

It’s not the “more food” that made you gain weight, it’s how MUCH more food, how FAST it was introduced into your diet, and how LONG you stayed there.

We may be increasing a clients food intake, yes, but they’re certainly not going out and adding a large pizza, a dozen donuts, or stopping at an all you can eat buffet every day.

We’re making small, calculated increases, over time.

And, of course, there’s circumstances that call for larger increases, but my point remains the same.

And, of course, a reverse diet is not the ideal first move for every person, but my point remains the same.

90% of the people reading this can eat more food than they’re eating now, without gaining a single gram of body fat.

I would literally put my life behind that statement.

I mean, I built this entire business by proving that statement to be true, over, and over again.

And I’ll continue to do so.

Because eating as much as you can, while looking and feeling the best you can, is, well...pretty damn awesome.

02/28/2021

Another BrainsforBrawn transformation coming in hotttt🔥
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Okay - so let’s explain what the F happened here.
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I’m sure you already noticed that, over the course of 8 weeks, her food increased by 300 calories a day, and her body weight decreased by 8 pounds.
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But why? How does this even work?
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It takes energy...to burn energy.
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What I mean by that is, as we increased her caloric intake(energy) she was able to “do more,” resulting in more calories burned.
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And when I say “do more,” I don’t just mean performing better, faster, stronger during her workouts, I also mean in day to day, mundane tasks.
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Like shopping at a mall, for instance.
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Someone who’s tired may walk into 3 stores, find what they need, and go home.
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Someone with energy might end up walking into 12 stores, trying on more outfits and overall, burning more calories.
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Does this make sense?
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If a tired individual runs on the treadmill as fast as they can for 5 minutes, they’ll burn less calories than if an energized individual did the same thing.
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Now, of course there is limits to this. We can’t just continue increasing calories forever and assume that somehow, we’ll always find a way to burn more than we eat. We do have a metabolic ceiling(which can and will change - often).
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BUT, most of us (because of dieting attempts in the past - or just general chronic under eating), are nowhere near our metabolic ceiling.
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We have ROOM to increase food/energy, without increasing body fat. And in a lot of cases (like the one shown above), even LOSE body fat.
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I’ve shared several reverse diet transformations, and I’ll share several more. I know a lot of YOU know your metabolic rate could use some “rehab” and, honestly, I want to give you as much insight as possible, so you can remedy that.
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I mean, that is my ultimate goal as a coach. To teach, and set free.
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And until people no longer feel confused, sad, and helpless around their body and their relationship with food, I’ll be here, doing my absolute best to solve the problem.

02/21/2021

So, I know my main demographic is women, but can we just take a moment of silence to admire my client Kyle.

Like damn, if that isn't a textbook recomp I don't know what is.

What's so special about Kyle's transformation is he's not a hardcore gym-goer - not at all.

He lives a super busy lifestyle[a fellow entrepreneur], and doesn't have much time to be spending smashing curls in the squat rack.

So, what did we do between these two photos?

We ran a short fat loss phase at the start, and spent the rest of the time reverse dieting[increasing energy availability through the addition of food].

Other than focusing on progressive overload in the gym, there has been nothing extreme or hardcore about his transformation.

He trains for 5-6 hours per week, and he quite often parties on weekends. He's conscious of his caloric intake, and he lives his life the way he wants- as he should.

You know how the phrase "consistency is key" has been said approximately 479382x[in the last week]? It's because it quite literally is the most vital factor in reaching your goals.

Not butter in your coffee. Not apple cider vinegar shots. Not trying a new workout regimen every day with hopes of confusing your body.

Just going in the gym day after day, week after week, becoming exceptionally good at the movements on your current program, and adding more weight as progression allows.

Making change in your physique, in your mindset, in your behaviour, in your life, is as simple as having a goal, and being consistent in your pursuit of that goal.

Congrats to Kyle for turning into an absolute machine without having to sacrifice fun, experiences, or memories.

Life. Always. Comes. First.

02/18/2021

Arguably the best donut pose photo ever sent to me. Courtesy of 🙏

Today, I’ll be talking about vehicle dysmorphia.

Confused? You should be. Keep reading.

I recently had a client message me, and she said that if she ever shares any concerns about her body with her friends or family, they just brush it off and tell her she has body dysmorphia.

And, well...that's ridiculous.

Here's the thing. You're not going to like what you see, do, hear, touch, taste, smell, experience, etc a lot of times in life. There will be a lot of things, a lot of times, that you don’t like.

There's going to be times when you look at the dirty dishes piled up in your sink and you hate what you see. Do you have kitchen dysmorphia?

There's going to be times when you look at your dirty vehicle and hate what you see. Do you have vehicle dysmorphia?

There's going to be times you are absolutely frustrated with your romantic partner. Do you have relationship dysmorphia?

These examples may seem silly, but they certainly serve a purpose.

It is not only normal, but EXPECTED that sometimes we aren't going to like the things we look at.

There's going to be times you look in the mirror and you don't like what you see. But that does NOT mean you have body dysmorphia.

There are so many buzzwords floating around the fitness industry, (bingeing, for example) that get thrown around left and right. Used in the wrong context, repeatedly.

And then you get people who over eat one evening, and they’re convinced that they must have Binge Eating Disorder.

Or people who don’t like what they see in the mirror on a Tuesday morning, and self-diagnose with body dysmorphia(or worse, they’re friends/family diagnose it).

It’s ludicrous.

On those days, when we happen to dislike what we see in the mirror, we simply have to acknowledge the feeling, show ourselves grace, and allow ourselves to process that emotion until it’s gone.

That’s it. That’s all.

Because just like when we’re sad after we receive bad news, or frustrated when someone cuts us off in traffic, it ALWAYS passes.

Now, if it DOESN’T pass, and you hate what you’re looking at every single day, and it’s occupying bandwidth in your brain for hours at a time, then yes, I recommend seeking some professional support.
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But if that’s not the case - you’re well. You don’t have body dysmorphia.
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You simply don’t like what you see...today.
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And that’s okay. You...are okay.

02/16/2021

Hey, love bugs🤓

Recently, it’s been brought to my attention that some of you have no idea what I do. Who I help. How I help them. WHY I help them.

And although I find this ludicrous, it’s understandable. It’s been at LEAST A year since I hit you with a synopsis, so let’s dive into it.

For the last 4 years I’ve been a physique & lifestyle coach, and as of today, I’ve worked with 347 clients. [325 of which were female.]

Now I know, the term “lifestyle coach” is pretty vague, as it could mean a plethora of things. But, in this instance, I’m referring to the fact that I help people reach their physique goals AND show them how to keep those results in a way that suits THEIR individual lifestyle.

You know, how to get lean and STAY lean, regardless of how busy, tired, or resource limited you might be.

As you already know, I generally work with women(you can see them all over my page).

Women who have slowed their metabolic rate due to failed attempts at dieting in the past, or (intentional or not) chronic under eating.

Women who have poor relationships with food and exercise. The ones who struggle to control their eating in social situations, or when there’s a box of cookies in the cabinet. The ones who over eat and then punish themselves with an hour of cardio the following day.

Women who simply want to eat “normal” food, live a “normal” life, and have the physique they desire.

I ALWAYS get asked why I chose this demographic(as it does require a fair amount of energy and attention), and the truth is, that’s why.

The women(and men) struggling with those issues are walking everywhere among us, and the coaches willing(I should say capable) to help them are few and far between.

And I’ve been there.

I’ve done the restrictive “clean eating” diet.

I’ve eaten a donut and thought that my physique would be completely ruined.

I’ve spent time in the mental prison that is believing the only way to keep the physique I want is to eat the same 6 foods off the copy/paste meal plan my coach gave me, for the rest of my life.

I’ve done all those things and, honestly, it’s not something anyone should have to deal with. Ever.

So here I am. helping people break free.
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4 years...hundreds of transformations later.
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And I’m not going anywhere.

02/12/2021

Recently, someone said to me “Brendan, everything I read about losing weight always tells me I just need to be in a calorie deficit. But when I’m in a deficit, I still don’t lose weight. What am I doing wrong?”

And it’s a phenomenal question, so I’m gonna talk about it.

To be short, and blunt, and factual...if you’re not losing weight, you’re not in a calorie deficit.

Now I KNOW, it might look like you are on paper, but you simply are not.

And there’s a plethora of factors that could be responsible for this.

It could be that you overestimated how many calories you need to be eating to lose weight.

It could be that you under estimate how many calories are in the food/drinks you ingest day to day.

It could be that your metabolic rate has slowed to match the energy balance you’re currently living in.

It could be MANY things.

But the fact is, if you’re eating 1500 cals and you’re not losing weight, you’re not in a deficit.

If you’re eating 1200 cals and you’re not losing weight, you’re not in a deficit.

That’s not my opinion, it’s a universal truth.

So what do we do? What do you do if you feel like you’re eating for a rabbit but you’re STILL not in a deficit?

Well, I can’t generalize ALL situations, but usually I would...increase calories.

You know, like I’ve done with almost every transformation on my page.

I would increase calories(energy) so you could burn more calories(energy).

So you’d have more energy to lift more volume in the gym, go for a longer walk with your dog, and dance around the house in your underwear.

See...nobody ever said you need to take away calories to lose weight.

They said you need to be in a calorie deficit.

And sometimes that does mean reducing calorie intake. Sometimes it means increasing activity. And sometimes it means increasing calorie intake so we have the energy to increase activity(and create the, ever so elusive, deficit we’re searching for).

Makes sense, right?

There’s multiple paths to creating a calorie deficit, and you’re just not using the one that’s optimal for you and your body, right now.

You’re not broken. Not at all.

You just need to take the next exit and try a different path.

02/10/2021

Switching it up from a donut to ice cream(with my best bro on planet earth).

Right now, I want to talk about what to do when you end up going over your calorie target for the day.

You know, when you have the extra glass of wine, or you opt for the large slurpee instead of the small.

Sometimes you’re aware the overage is ensuing, and other times you’re shocked when you tally up your food for the day. Either way, the solution is the same.

Some coaches say to under eat the following day.
Some coaches say to add cardio to the following day.
Some coaches simply say “stop over eating.” [LOL.]

So, let’s dissect this.

“Macro sharing” (moving some calories from one day to another in order to prepare for an event, etc) DOES have a purpose, and will be useful in the right time and place, but for most of you, that time and place should be damn near never.

The reason I rarely advise this (unless you’re a long-time tracker with a healthy relationship with food) is because it’s DAMN easy to get into a cycle of over eating, trying to under eat the following day, feeling extra hungry because of this, over eating again, and repeating the cycle.

Which leaves you in a feeling like a failure, AND living in a calorie surplus. A negative outcome for both your mind and body. Ouch.

As for using cardio the following day(to make up for a calorie overage), you’re risking the exact same outcome. Over eating, doing extra cardio the following day, which leaves you feeling extra hungry, so you over eat again, and repeat.

So…what exactly DO I recommend?

That depends largely on your experience with tracking, your relationship with food, and how often over eating is occurring.

If this is happening often(I would guess it is, for a lot of you) it’s important to draw attention to the fact that the issue is NOT that you’re over eating. “How to deal with the calorie overage” is not the problem we’re trying to solve.

Instead, we should be looking at WHY the calorie overages are happening in the first place. Are they intentional? Are you losing control? Are you starving? Is it always the same food source you end up over eating? Etc.

Once we find out WHY it’s happening, then we can make some headway on completely eliminating the over-eat/punish cycle from your life.

And once we do that, you’re pretty much unstoppable.

02/07/2021

Another. Epic. Reverse.

When Becca first contacted me, she was stuck in the binge/restrict/punish cycle.

She was eating clean during the day, and then bingeing on tasty foods at night. To make matters worse, she would do 30-60 minutes of fasted cardio EVERY morning depending how guilty she felt about the night before.
..have you been here?

It’s cool, because the only things we did between these two photos is take away all food source restrictions, increase the amount she was eating, and decrease her cardio.

She ate more food, did less activity, and...lost body fat.

Riddle me that.

Now, Becca can eat out as often as she wants, eat MORE of the food she desires, and get a little extra sleep in the morning instead of rushing to do fasted cardio.

So, her physique improved, yes. But so did her quality of life.

Less stress about food. More time spent making memories.

Congrats, Becca. You deserve it.

BrainsforBrawn

01/09/2022

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02/28/2021

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