Eat the Gains in 2025

Year in Review: Eat the Gains in 2025 – a look back on 2025 with everything that happened, the most popular recipes, and what’s to come for Eat the Gains!

How is it almost 2026? This year FLEW BY. They say time flies when you have a baby, and now I can truly see it. It feels like just yesterday I was pregnant, and soon we will have a one-year-old.

I have been doing year-end reviews for a long time now to see how Eat the Gains has grown and evolved. There is so much that can be accomplished in a year, and looking back helps you see everything in one place. Plus, it helps me realize how far I’ve come over the years!

Here are the year’s previous reviews —> 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024

So here is what happened on Eat the Gains in 2025! I will recap what happened for me personally, along with Eat the Gains, some favorite recipes, and what’s to come!

Life Happenings:

1. We had a baby!! By far my biggest accomplishment and best thing to happen to us this year. Becoming a mom has been such an amazing experience. Of course, there are hard days and challenges, but the transition has felt easy for me. It’s been so fun watching her grow and learning new things, and the amount of love I feel for her is unexplainable. Both Michael and I are loving parenthood!
2. Another trip back East! Our 6th(!!) summer heading back east for a couple of months. This trip looked a little different from normal, with me flying with our daughter and Michael driving with the dogs, but it went super smoothly. Extra grateful to be able to spend extended time with family (especially now that we have a little one!), escape the Texas heat, and have a change of scenery.
3. JMU reunion. It’s been a couple of years since we made the trip for a football game, but with a few of our friends all having babies this year, we had to go. Always a great time!
4. Made some new friends. I made a few new mom friends who had babies at the same time I did, and it’s been such a blessing to have like-minded women to go through motherhood with. It truly takes a village!
5. Lots of “firsts”. Having a baby makes you see things so differently. First time on a plane, first time on a boat, first time at the beach, first holidays, and more. It’s been so fun to experience things through her eyes.
6. Starting to read again! I was reaching for my phone more often than I liked during contact naps, so I started reading again, and I’m absolutely loving it. I read 27 books this year, which is a lot considering I didn’t read any last year! Definitely going to be a habit I continue into the new year.

Eat the Gains in 2025 – the content

We published a lot of content this year, but it was less than in previous years due to the birth of our daughter. The focus continued on easy and macro-balanced recipes, and we did a few more sweet recipes than in previous years.

Even with not as much content, there were so many good recipes this year! Let’s get into the most popular posts this past year and some of the favorites from our house.

Top 5 recipes/posts posted in 2025:

1. Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
2. Protein Chia Pudding
3. Creamy Chocolate Protein Pudding
4. Ninja Creami Frozen Yogurt
5. Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Balls

5 most popular recipes/posts overall for 2025:

1. Blender Cottage Cheese Pancakes
2. Creamy Chicken Sausage Pasta
3. Protein Pancakes
4. Cottage Cheese Muffins
5. Yogurt Bowl

My top 3 favorite posts of 2025:

1. Spinach Artichoke Chicken Skillet
2. Meal Prep Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches
3. Protein Chia Pudding

Michael’s top 3 favorite posts of 2025:

1. Spinach Artichoke Chicken Skillet (twinning haha)
2. Homemade Butterfingers
3. Cheesy Enchilada Pasta

Eat the Gains in 2025 – growth

We didn’t experience any growth, with a little bit of a decrease in traffic this year on Eat the Gains. I’m not surprised about this since my time is being dedicated to taking care of our daughter. I’m not posting as many recipes as in previous years and am not showing up as much on social media. It can feel a little bit of a bummer, especially with seeing growth the past handful of years, but taking a step back and realizing why puts it into perspective.

What is coming in 2026

Honestly, I have no idea! We will continue to put out macro-friendly recipes, but other than that, I don’t have much planned for next year.

I am currently watching our daughter full-time while running Eat the Gains, and it’s been a little bit of a challenge, especially the past few months when she started to crawl. And I know it will only get harder the more mobile she gets. Most of my energy goes to her, which has taken it away from work, and I feel like my creativity just hasn’t been here lately.

So next year is all about continuing to try to balance both, but honestly, I want most of my time dedicated to our daughter. I know this time will be short-lived, and I don’t want to look back and feel like I missed it because I was too focused on working.

Michael and I have talked about bringing on a little help for a handful of hours a week, or I will try to outsource a little more. I am so grateful for all the hard work I put in over the last decade, so I can step away while my business still runs.

From a personal standpoint, a few goals I have are:

• I want to start making sourdough (this has been a goal for like 3-4 years now!). I also want to try a few other things, like granola and sauerkraut.
• Get “dressed” more days than not. It’s easy to just stay in my workout clothes, but getting dressed has such a big impact on how I feel and go about the day.
• Starting running again! It’s something I miss, and I would like to get back into it.
• Spend less time scrolling on my phone!
• Travel somewhere with our daughter (besides the East Coast).
• Start to play pickleball for fun!

THANK YOU!

This year has truly been my favorite year! Becoming a mom has been such a wonderful experience, and I don’t know how anything can top it.

With that being said, this year looked different for my business with the birth of our daughter. I took a big step back, and while Eat the Gains continued to run thanks to the amazing team I have, it looked a little different. But you guys kept showing up for me.

Without you, there would be no Eat the Gains. I appreciate you being here, trying my recipes, following along with what I’m sharing, sharing my site with friends and family, trusting my recommendations, and more. I am so grateful that you take time out of your day to spend with me! Your continued support doesn’t go unnoticed.

Thank you for supporting me and allowing me to continue to do this as my job – I am so grateful!

Cheers to 2026!!

If you love quick and easy meals and want to learn how to build a balanced plate, check out our FREE How to Build a Balanced Plate Guide!