BENEFITS OF ICE BATHS FOR RECOVERY

Hey girrrrllll!

Happy Sunday! Ah I ammm sitting in bed, on my second cold brew at 8:30am, wondering if I can go get a massage again today from my new boyfriend Jack. (aka the amazing little asian man who is my new go to at the thai massage place I’m obsessed with). I wonder what his real name is…

Anyway. I’m training for my first 1/2 marathon AND first sprint triathlon at the moment…

Up until a few months ago, I hadn’t RAN outside for more than 15 minutes in like…a year maybe? But for 2020 my big goal is to focus on setting new personal bests for myself. I figured signing up for both of these would be a good way to push myself but like DAMN…my shins, my hips and my feet are not happy today (which is why I need JACK).

I don’t care about my time (I kinda do) during the races because my main goal is just FINISH them BUT before that, my biggest goal is to not get injured. So yesterday I went on my longest practice run so far. I’ve been running 3-5 miles every weekend for the last 6 weeks so yesterday I headed to the beach and bumped it up to 7 miles.

I was suhhh proud of myself because I didn’t stop running, and I actually didn’t even feel that tired. Honestly I felt like I got second wind after mile 5 which sounds insane BUT as I started mile 6, my freaking kneeeeees dude. They failed me. I ran through the 7th mile and then walked straight into the ocean for an immediate cold therapy relief for my feet, ankles and knees.

I gotta say – as yesterday progressed, I noticed that my knees and ankles were no where NEAR as sore as they had been while running but I noticed that my hips we’re super sore and I wonder if it’s because I didn’t get my hips into the water.

So I wanted to go over the benefits of ice baths with you guys because I think a lot of you would really benefit from them! I have been focusing on strength training for the last 20 or so months and have found that recovery is pretty easy with sleep, water, and stretching but this endurance training requires a different kind of recovery.

BENEFITS OF AN ICE BATH FOR RECOVERY:

EASES SORE/ACHING MUSCLES + REDUCES INFLAMMATION

When you sit in the cold water, the blood vessels constrict, then when you get out they dilate which helps flush away metabolic waste post-workout. This helps reduce inflammation and improve recovery as it changes the way blood is flowing through your body while sending tons of nutrients and oxygen to your cells.

HELPS YOUR CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM:

The central nervous system essentially control the activities of the body, so it’s safe to say that it’s getting worked hard and often. What’s cool is that through training we can essentially make the CNS adapt to what we need to do. For example, if I try to hip thrust 400 lbs and that bar doesn’t even budge, that’s my CNS is signaling to my muscles to STAND DOWN – this weight is too heavy for my muscles right now so my CNS will protect me by now allowing me to move the bar.

So of course I would peel some weight off and try again. Even if I take 10 pounds off and only get 1 rep, that 1 rep does SO much for my CNS because it exposes the central nervous system to the weight and starts to prepare the body to be able to lift that weight again. Then eventually my muscles will be strong enough, the CNS will feel safe and then before you know it, I’ll hip thrust 400 pounds!

If you feel fatigued or things start to feel really heavy, that’s your CNS tapping out and telling you you need a break.

ANYWAY – back to ice baths. The ice bath helps stimulate your CNS which can help improve reaction time and explosiveness in future workouts while also boosting mood, attitude, and sleep.

TRAINS THE VAGUS NERVE:

The vagus nerve connects to many parts of the body as it goes all the way from your head to your bum. When you do an ice bath you stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system while decreasing the sympathetic nervous system which is your “fight or flight” system.

DECREASES THE EFFECTS OF HEAT AND HUMIDITY:

I thought this was interesting. Instead of using the ice bath AFTER training, some people will have an ice bath before competing in a race for example in a new hot or humid area because it can lower the core body temperature a bit which can lead to improved performance.

WHAT TO KNOW WHEN DOING AN ICE BATH:

To my surprise – you don’t actually HAVE TO have ice in the water in order to get the desired benefits..the water just needs to be 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit.

You don’t want to stay in the ice bath for too long, so aim for 10-15 minutes (which to me sounds EXTREMELY long but okay haha).

If you have a pre existing cardiovascular disease or low blood pressure, it’s not recommended that you do ice baths as the decrease in your core temperature may put you at risk for hypothermia, a heart attack or stroke.

I will keep you guys updated on how I feel like they help me while training over at my insta @chelseyrosehealth ! I honestly feel like right now while it’s still early in the year, it was nice to run at the beach then walk directly into the water afterwards. Give it a shot before it get’s too warm! Leave a comment if you have any other tips you love for recovery or if you have any thoughts on the ice bath situation!

xx

TOP 10 VITAMIN, MINERAL, AND SUPPLEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS FROM ELITE TRAINERS.

In case you didn’t see my insta post the other day, I want to start this blog by saying that if you don’t currently workout consistently (4-6 times a week) then DON’T worry about what supplements to get just yet.

I’d prefer that you spend that money on a gym membership or an online coach/trainer (I’m available!). Supplements can’t replace hard work but they can assist if you’re already working hard and feel ready for that extra push.

I spent so much money on diet pills, energy drinks, water pills and powders that I didn’t even know what to do with when I was younger. It left me feeling dehydrated, starved, and jittery AND looking the same so, there’s that.

Now that I’ve been training consistently for the last couple of years, I felt like it was time to see how I could advance my results and invest in some things that elite trainers suggest. I asked 5 different trainers who have been in the biz for 8+ years and who have backgrounds and connections in the fitness industry that go far beyond anything we know, for their top 5 recommendations.

I took the ten top listed vitamins, minerals and supplements from everyones picks and rounded them into this list! Check out the trainers who contributed here: @Showupfitness | @Trainvive | @Mecastrong | @Edstrengthacademy |

VITAMINS:

Vitamin D:

This was 1 of the most recommended supplements across the board from all trainers. Benefits include:

• Reduced risk for osteoporosis

• Improves physical strength E

• Eases feelings of depression

• Levels of Vitamin D have been linked with lean mass.

Multi Vitamin:

Because let’s be real, how many of you are really getting all the nutrients you need on a daily basis? Well rounded healthy food should always be the go to for getting all your vitamins, minerals and nutrients but even still, deficiencies in many areas is still common. I did a DNA test a few months ago with MyDNA and found that I was deficient in b6, b12, folate, and vitamin A. I’d suggest taking a test as well to see what you need but incorporating a daily Multi Vitamin was something I did to help and I have felt more energized since.

Omegas:

Omega’s were highly recommended by all trainers. Here are some of their benefits:

• Reduce high blood pressure.

• Raise levels of GOOD cholesterol.

• Can prevent the formation of blood clots.

• Can reduce insulin resistance and inflammation in people with belly fat and high blood pressure.

• May improve sleep.

• May improve bone and joint health.

MINERALS:

Zinc:

Remember in my last blog how we talked about the importance of testosterone and growth hormone for women? Well Zinc is here to remind us yet again how important it is. Low levels of these hormones may affect our strength, body fat percentage and recovery but research shows that Zinc can help to raise these hormones. Zinc also plays an important roll when it comes to T-Cell Function. T Cells are helpful in building an immune response to viral and bacterial infections so being able to fend off sickness is especially important for continuous results in the gym.

Magnesium:

Do not overlook magnesium! According to this article, magnesium is responsible for more than 600 reactions in the body. It helps create energy by converting food into energy, creates new proteins from amino acids, helps create and repair DNA, is part of the contraction and relaxation of muscles, AND it helps regulate neurotransmitters which is essential for training.

Some studies show that magnesium helps push blood sugar into your muscles and dispose of lactate which could lead to better exercise performance.

It can also lower blood pressure, help fight inflammation, reduce insulin resistance, AND improve PMS systems. Lord help us.

SUPPLEMENTS:

EAA’s (Essential Amino Acids):

Amino Acids are well, essential. They are the building blocks of protein and they help with hormones + neurotransmitters. The body needs 20 to grow and function properly but only 9 are considered ESSENTIAL. THESE ones cannot be made by the body though and must be obtained through our diet which I find weird…like let’s go darwinism.

Amino acids are mostly recognized for their role in muscle development and repair but they do SO much more and a deficiency in them can actually impact your entire body from the nervous system to the immune, digestive and reproductive system.

Amino acids can also prevent muscle loss and may prevent weight loss.

Wondering what foods contain amino acids? You should be! Luckily this part is super convenient because there are some foods that actually contain ALL 9 ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS and these are therefor called “complete proteins”.

These include:

• Meat

• Seafood

• Poultry

• Eggs

• Dairy Products

On that note – if you make protein shakes but are vegan, dairy free or prefer plant based products, try to get a plant based complete protein so that you get all of your aminos. I used to buy plant based protein like a brown rice protein, or a pea protein but as you can see that is not considered a COMPLETE protein. I like this one.

BCAA’s (Branched-Chain Amino Acids)

MORE AMINO ACIDS?! Don’t worry – these are included in the 9 essential amino acids, but they are grouped together as a specific group of 3 important amino acids: leucine, isoleucine and valine.

According to this article, BCAA’s are mostly broken down in the muscle instead of the liver so they are considered to assist in energy production during exercise. BCAA’s also help reduce muscle soreness, reduce fatigue during exercise, may increase muscle mass, lower blood sugar levels, and may enhance weight loss.

It’s recommended that women take A MINIMUM of 9/g a day but 15-35g a day is generally safe. The most common time to have them is before and after exercising but if you have a low protein diet or train often then more could be helpful also having some in the morning and before bed.

Creatine:

Remember how we were talking about ATP earlier and how it is responsible for every single muscle contraction AND how it is made in all energy systems? Well the reason that creatine is super popular is because it increases your muscles phosphocreatines stores WHICH allows you to produce more ATP energy. Make sense?

More ATP = being able to perform better at strength training, sprinting, and recovery while reducing how quickly one fatigues. Some people do complain though that ATP makes them look “softer” because creatine can increase the water content in your muscles so play around with how much you take and see what works for you! Definitely buy creatine monohydrate to make sure you’re getting all the benefits.

Protein Powder / Protein Bars:

From all the assessments I have done with women in person and on the phone, I can honestly say that no one has ever come to me with the habit of eating enough protein and taking it easy on the carbs…ever. Time and time again I see food logs that show that protein is around 40-60g a day and carbs are 200-300g a day. Simply adding more protein into my client’s diets and reducing the amount of carbs they we’re consuming, my clients all started to feel better, understand REAL satisfaction with food, and lose inches.

I recommend protein powder and protein bars to all of my clients as an easy way to get in more protein, especially if you’re on the go. A complete animal protein would be a better option than a protein shake but most of us don’t have the luxury of sitting down for every meal. If you’re on the go I highly recommend making a protein shake or buying a protein bar while you’re out. There’s protein bars at every gas station so there’s no excuse as to why you can’t stop.

My favorite protein bars are Power Crunch Bars and ONE bars (my fav is the birthday cake flavor).

My favorite smoothie to make and take with me to work is:

+ 1 1/4 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

+ 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries (raspberries, blackberries, & blueberries).

+ 1 tbsp roasted flax seeds from Trader Joes.

+ 1 tbsp maca root powder (for natural energy and focus).

+ 1 scoop of Amazing Grass “Wild Berry Hibiscus” Protein powder.

HOW I TAKE CARE OF MYSELF: EVERYTHING FROM VITAMINS AND PROBIOTICS TO MIND SET HACKS AND SKIN CARE PRODUCTS

Over the last year, I have gotten way more selfish about taking care of myself and really putting myself first…and let me tell ya…not only am I loving it, but I honestly wish more people I knew would do it. I had a panic attack a year ago (you can read about that here) due to not taking care of myself and it was a eye opener to say the least.

I was actively promoting that people SHOULD take care of themselves while I was working until 1-2am, getting up at 6:00am, drinking on my nights off to try to shut out how much I hated my job as a server, working out on my 6th day of averaging 5 hours of sleep and downing an energy drink every day.

Looking back on those 4 months in a way I feel like I was doing something called “surging” – that’s where you go really hard in order to achieve a goal or create a better outcome – which is great! I think more people should surge more often so that they can really see what it means to focus on something for longer than a couple days and understand that they can get so much done with FOCUS! BUT. I wasn’t just surging on one thing with one main focus…I was surging on my night job + school + training + working out + my blog + etc. You get it.

But anyway – since then I’ve learned that unless you seriously put yourself first – you will go into a downward spiral and no one really knows where it can lead or when or if you’ll be able to pull yourself out of it.

So I wanted to share with you guys everything from my routine and my morning vitamins to my pillows and my face mists that allow me to take care of myself from the inside out. Let’s get into it.

VITAMINS / MINERALS / & TEAS

THAT MAKE ME FEEL BETTER

Let’s start with the beginning of my day. We can skip the whole scene of me taking my dog out with no pants on and go right to the kitchen. I get my milk frother and tea kettle ready with milk and water to start up my Matcha Green Tea Latte. (This is the matcha I use).

Matcha has been such a nice change of pace for me in the morning. It’s packed with chlorophyll, vitamins and antioxidants and it enhances mood while calming the mind and body. #selfcareapproved.

Next I am FINALLY in a real routine of taking my vitamins – phew – only took like 900 years. I chew on two Vitamin C + Manuka Honey chewable pills and then I throw back 1 Women’s Daily Vitamin plus these 2 probiotics. (Find all 3 of these products here).

Manuka Honey is rich in phenolic acids which are antioxidant compounds, Vitamin C contains antioxidants that can help protect cells from radical damage AND Vitamin C helps support a healthy immune system. Remember that the immune system is the body’s first line of defense so you know, it’s important.

My Women’s Daily Vitamin has over 50 vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and herbs that are tailored for women to help during times of stress, maintain energy and vitality. #selfcareapproved.

The only other tea I should mention here is my post lunch detox tea. I love this detox tea because it actually tastes bomb, it’s gentle yet effective and makes me feel like I am staying on top of my bloat + digestion.

My detox tea contains Red Rooibos to assist with age-fighting antioxidants and fat-fighting compounds, Lemongrass to detox the digestive tract, and Rose to calm the adrenal system. #selfcareapproved.

HOW I TAKE CARE OF MY SKIN

MY CURRENT GO TO PRODUCTS

I’m really trying to keep all of these categories as concise as possible so I’m only going to name the things that are an absolute MUST when it comes to taking care of my skin.

1. GOLDFADDEN MD NATURAL CLEANSER ♥ I use this every night to take off all the make up, dirt, and sweat from throughout the day and it works really well, smells great, and never makes my skin feel dry.

2. GOLDFADDEN MD DOCTORS SCRUB ♥ I use this twice a week to exfoliate and even got my boyfriend hooked on it who won’t let me put ANYTHING on his face except witch hazel so, that say’s a lot.

3. DR. KAYS VITAMIN C SERUM, DEEP BLUE HYDRATION, TRIPLE SHOT SERUM, and EYE SERUM ♥ These products keep my face SO hydrated it is actually insane. Any time I get a facial the esthetician will actually tell me that it’s a lot easier to do a deep exfoliation of my face because it’s so hydrated AND a hydrated face helps prevent wrinkles and fine lines.

4. KERSTIN FLORIAN REHYDRATING SPRAY ♥ The orange blossom in this spray is like…addicting though. I am OBSESSED with this. I put it on 3-4 times a day, need to buy more asap!

5. HAMMAM SCRUBBING GLOVE ♥ Okay listen up because if this is you, then you need to get this glove. I used to always get little bumps on the back of my thighs that sometimes even looked like acne…? That happen to any of you? And I could never seem to have just nice smooth legs – probably because I’m always in workout clothes and sweating and just being glam. So I finally ordered one of these body exfoliating gloves and after like a week of using it – my bumps we’re GONE! My legs look supa smooth now.

6. IT COSMETICS CC CREAM ♥ This now acts as my real life filter + sun block protection. It’s AMAZING. Normally CC creams are super watery but this one is creamy but also moisturizing and FULL coverage. It’s all I wear now.

Also check out my most recent YouTube Video with how I created my new night time routine to be allll about detoxing with specific products.

#selfcareapproved

SETTING THE VIBE

IF THE VIBES OFF, I’M OFF

I’m allllll about a mutha fu*kin vibbbbbe thoughhh. If me and Est walk into a restaurant and the vibe/energy is off ie: fluorescent lighting, weird seating, weird pace, bad decor, I’m out. I get like physically uncomfortable in un-vibey places. So my home HAS to be vibing in every single room in order for me to feel like I am deflecting negativity and putting myself in the best mood possible. If Est so much as tries to hug me for too long when the house feels cluttered I get squirmish haha #virgoproblems.

Here’s what I do to make my house FULL of positive vibes and how I create a comfortable work space.

1. Open all of the windows. Even in the rooms that I’m not in.

2. Have plants everywhere. Literally in the living room, kitchen, bathroom and my bedroom there are plants. Plants bring LIFE into your space and positive energy and I. LOVE. THEM.

3. Light candles all day. All night. They make my house feel fresh and depending on what scent you get they can trigger different moods. You can get a lavender candle to promote calmness or an orange candle to bring in the energy.

4. Make my bed.

5. Keep positive messages in sight. I have a message written on the mirror in my bathroom that says “Have faith, Sleep well, Listen to good music, and see the funny side of life”, then I have the top 5 regrets of the dying from the book “The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying” by Bronnie Ware. SUCH a good book – highly recommend. It’s a true story written by a nurse who primarily worked with the elderly and she just beautifully pieces together story after story of her conversations with people who we’re on their last days and what they admitted their regrets were in life. The crazy thing was that most of everyone that she spoke to fell into one of these 5 regrets.

#selfcareapproved

HOW I TAKE CARE OF MY MIND

APPS / EXERCISES / & HEALTHY CHOICES

I’ve always been very aware that when you focus on positive things, you really manage to see the positive vibes happening all around you. But it wasn’t until my panic attack when I realized that even though you have all the intentions in the world of being a happy and positive person, that pushing yourself too much and putting yourself last too often, can still bring in negativity.

SO, to stay positive and take care of myself, I make sure to meditate, exercise, journal, and limit my drinking.

Meditation:

I use an app called CALM and I loooooove it. It’s a guy with an accent and the meditations are only 10 minutes a day so it’s easy for me to stay consistent. It really has taught me to be more aware of the current moment and has allowed me to realize how often we are either thinking about the past or thinking about the future. Let’s be present peoplllllleee!

Exercising:

Let me share something I learned with you guys. Ladies, if you are high strung or constantly stressed, consider taking a small break from your crazy non stop HIIT classes, and try a gym day or a walk. These classes are causing our stress to go UP and for most of us, that means it’s hitting the ceiling. We need our stress to come down if we want a healthy mindset and weight loss. Walking and weight training allow that to happen. If I miss even 2 days of exercise I notice that my mind gets messy and my mood SUCKS, so getting to the gym is so much more about my mindset for me than it is my looks.

Journaling:

I’ve been journaling since 2006 and it’s honestly THERAPY for me. This is the kind of thing that I can easily forget to make time for but when I do – I start to notice that my head feels full of stuff and my emotions feel like they’re all over the place.

#selfcareapproved.

FOODS THAT GIVE ME ENERGY

ALLOW ME TO TAKE CARE OF MYSELF

We don’t have to dive in too deep here. Obviously a diet high in vegetables and protein and low in overly processed foods is going to be your best bet for eating for fuel BUT these are a couple snacks that I’m loving right now that don’t slow me down.

1. Daily Harvest ♥ If you have never tried Daily Harvest – you are. missing. out! You can get 3 free cups right now if you’re wanting to try it by using my code CHELSEY on their site! I love the smoothies the most because they’re so easy to grab, blend and go. I prefer the ones with cold brew OR I find one that would taste good with cold brew and just add it myself. EN-ER-GYYY!

2. Owyn Protein Shakes ♥ SO BOMB. I always see these now at GNC, random health food stores and gyms.

3. ONE Protein Bars ♥ Birthday Cake flavor and the Almond one are my faves.

4. Power Crunch Bars ♥ Literally the best thing since mac n cheese. Get the vanilla, the raspberry, or either one of the peanut butter options. SUH good.

#selfcareapproved.

I think that covers most of my bases for what I honestly use on a day to day basis. Remember this is important. It really is because when we don’t take care of ourselves our minds become negative, our self talk becomes negative, our outlook sucks and our drive and sense of self worth starts to go to a dark place.

If I’m being totally transparent, I just lost my cousin due to suicide and have heard of 2 others who took their own lives this month. Really talking about how to get your mind RIGHT is SO important so I want to help any way that I can and I feel like just giving some tips on what works for me is the best thing I can do.

If you have any other tips please leave them below!!

xx

THE 5 BIGGEST FACTORS THAT DETERMINE WHAT I EAT.

Hello hello hellloooo!

Damn. I just sat here for a while trying to think about how to even start this blog because today we’re talking about WHAT I EAT and when it comes to food, let’s just say…food and I…we’ve had a journey together.

I don’t know how many of you have dropped in my “about me” before but my relationship with food has had to go through an effing circus to get to where I am as of today.

Whenever I tell people that I used to be 25 pounds heavier than I am right now, they don’t believe me. I always ask my mom to go into the attic and grab old photos of me from high school and send them to me buuuuut to her defense, it’s probably a wreck up there and I don’t want to do it either, so here we are.

Before we get into what I’m doing today, I want to go over the habits that definitely DID NOT work for me in the past.

HABITS THAT DON’T HELP WEIGHT LOSS:

LACK OF MOVEMENT

– Quitting soccer and Taekwondo and continuing to eat cheese fries, subway sandwiches (foot longs), chocolate chip cookies and Eggo waffles did not work for me lol but eating all of those things while doing sports kept me fit AF. So no surprise there. Less movement + consuming more calories = WEIGHT GAIN. A nice 25 pounds. Awesome.

QUICK FIXES

– ADDERALL did not help me. I got very skinny on adderall, had horrible headaches and an even worse attitude then gained 30 pounds after getting off of it and was LAZY LAZY LAZY.

STRESS

– Stress did not help me. I’ve realized that I can easily be an anxious eater so once I moved to LA and started working in the restaurant bizz at high end hotels in Bel Air and Beverly Hills, I had so much anxiety that I would scarf down food. This had me feeling bloated, puffy, tired, irritable, and helpless constantly, which made me want to eat more.

BEING LAZY

– Not taking the time to meal prep and just eating work food DID NOT help me. I don’t even know what that shit was half the time but it was there, it was free, and there was a lot of it so I went for it. “I deserved it”…Right.

LOW PROTEIN

– Being vegetarian did not help me. I did this for about 4 years and as soon as I went back to eating meat I felt better than I had in YEARS. Literally after the very first meal I just kept telling my friend, “ I can’t believe how good I feel!”. Read more about that here, because it was scary for me to publicly talk about how I was a vegetarian/pescatarian that was going back to eating meat.

KETO

– RAW food diet, juicing, cleansing, eating every 2 hours, etc. Did not work for me.

Okay so yeah – I’ve tried almost everything. A lot of the things I listed above may have totally worked for you and that’s awesome! I’m not knocking any of these strategies or diets or whatever you want to call them – I’m just letting you know that they didn’t work for me.

5 Biggest Factors That Determine My Diet:

It took me like 10 years to realize that stress, alcohol, sleep, how often I work out and HOW I work out, are the 5 biggest factors that determine my diet.

So it’s really not about the food at all. It’s about the factors that determine what and how I eat so that’s where my focus needed to go. When I was SO focused on food I felt trapped. Every meal worried me, I was super restrictive when going out with friends then would go home and end up eating like 5 tablespoons of peanut butter, I was just a mess OK? Haha.

Fast forward to today – I’m probably in the best shape of my life and I am the least worried about food. So let’s go over those 5 big factors FIRST and how those have changed for me before we get into the food because you can EASILY eat “healthy” and still be overweight if those other factors are consuming you.

1. STRESS –

   Like I said – I can be an anxious eater. I’ve practiced consistently for the last year to change my habits while eating and I teach the same thing to my clients. We need to slow dowwwwwn while we eat in order to help with digestion and avoid bloating. I did a whole post on that here. Once I was able to slow down while eating, and bring my stress down, I noticed that I ate less, got bloated WAY less, and gained more self control.

2. ALCOHOL –  

   Oh maaaan girlfriend. I am your health and fitness trainer that supports a well done cocktail, an aperol spritz on a summer day, a whisky sour on a date night, beer pong,  and a glass of wine on really any day. I noticed though that I was casually drinking WAY more when I was working late nights as a cocktail server. Probably due to a mix of hating my job and feeling like I had no life haha. I always tell my clients that I’m not going to take their wine away but I DO suggest trying to limit yourself to only a couple nights a week. I recently decided that I only get to have my fun juice on Saturday’s and it’s been a game changer. Just by having 1 glass of wine at dinner 3x’s a week and 2 glasses on the weekend, I was consuming  AT LEAST an extra 625 calories in WINE. Not to mention the snacks I would have WITH the wine and the extra food I would have the following day if I felt hungover. I easily reduced my calories consumption by 1,000 a week by only drinking on Saturdays.

3. SLEEP –

   Lack of sleep is one of the biggest reasons for weight gain. It effects 2 hormones in the body called leptin and ghrelin which control our hunger and our fullness AND sleep deprivation causes the release of insulin which leads to an increase of fat storage. When I was working at my night job plus training in the morning and doing my internship, I felt like I just couldn’t keep up with my appetite. It was all over the place, even though I was eating healthy foods, I was still eating more than I was burning because my lack of energy made me feel like I needed it. Now I use the tool on the iPhones alarm that lets you set your alarm and set how many hours you want to sleep so that it notifies me at night when I need to get in bed based on how many hours I want to sleep. Since I wake up at 4:45 I need to get in bed by 8:45pm which I wasn’t doing for MONTHS. Now that I get my 8 hours of sleep I feel so much more in control of my appetite.

4. HOW OFTEN I WORK OUT –

   How often I work out totally effects what I eat on a day to day basis. I think one of the best things I practiced over the last couple of years was becoming more in tune with my body and that meant recognizing when I was hungry and when I was just bored. At this point, if I work out with weights 5 times a week, I can truly FEEL that I am more hungry which I LOVE because it makes me feel like I’m really using my body. If I don’t go to the gym say on a lazy Sunday and I just sit at home all day, I try to get in more movement by cleaning the house BUT I can REALLY tell that I don’t need as much food.

   I used to feel like I needed to eat every 2 hours in order to keep my metabolism going lol (just one of those things you read and decide to become married to it) but that just caused me to eat more calories and keep the weight.

5. HOW I WORK OUT –

   This kind of ties in with #4 but I wanted to bring it up because this also isn’t something that I was always in tune with. I used to eat the same meal after a casual hike as I do now after working out with heavy weights because I figured “I worked out! I need to re fuel!” lol. BUT that’s really not the case. We need to change our mind set from thinking that it’s okay to go out to brunch and order a massive meal with bottomless mimosas because we walked 10K steps that day. Walking 10K steps should just be considered movement, not an intense exercise where we need to take in all the calories we just burned and more.

   I can see now that I was holding myself back SO much when I had that mindset and I think it’s really common for other girls to do the same thing. I totally get it though, we’re proud of ourselves for getting out there and moving so we want to reward ourselves and what better way to reward ourselves than with a bomb ass dinner and some drinks right? Well that’s where our habits need to change. I tell all my clients to write down 15 other ways that they can reward themselves without food or drinks. Some examples would be a mani, pedi, massage, stay-cation, shopping for workout clothes etc.

OKAY SO with all of that said, let’s get into an example of:

What I Eat On A Workout Day And A Non Workout Day:

WORKOUT DAY:

5:00 am – Small Dirty Chai Tea Latte with Almond Milk

11:00 am – Power Crunch Bar

2:00 pm – Homemade Salad (lately; large handful of arugula, ½ an avocado, 4oz ground chicken, ½ cup orzo, sauteed red onions, red wine vinegarette dressing).

4:00 pm – 1 cup cottage cheese with cracked black pepper and tajin.

8:00 pm – 4oz chicken + sauteed red onions and zucchini, ½ cup cottage cheese.

NON WORKOUT DAY:

5:00 am – Almond Milk Latte

11:00 am – Fruit (cherries + grapes lately)

2:00 pm – Arugula salad + ¼ an avocado + 4oz ground chicken, sauteed zucchini.

5:00 pm – Handful of nuts and seeds + veggie chips

8:00 pm – Zucchini pasta with marinara sauce, 4 oz ground turkey, ¼ an avocado + ½ cup cottage cheese.

So as you can see I don’t really go crazy on workout days, and I eat similar foods until I need to go grocery shopping again haha so it might seem boring but it’s all really easy, healthy and efficient. On my workout days I just have bigger portions when I feel like I need it and some more carbs compared to my non workout days.

How To Handle Cravings + Weight Loss:

I know some of you may be thinking well, WTF. What happens when I’m craving a couple tacos and a margarita or when I just really want some sliders and french fries? When that happens I look at my week and do a general assessment of where I’m at. Have I eaten clean for most of my meals already? Do I have to go to a birthday dinner this weekend? These things come into play when I have cravings because they’re important to pay attention to. I need to be in control of my food, my food cannot control me or that’s when I get into trouble and next thing you know, I’ve eaten bad for a whole week.

How Often Do I Need To Eat Clean?:

My coach likes to tell us that 18/21 meals a week should be clean. Make 3 meals a week a cheat and you’ll be getting better results than you have in years. It’s all about consistency and remembering that YOU are in control. If you get invited to a bunch of parties over the summer or holiday events, I’m sorry but that’s not an excuse to let your goals go down the drain. Life happens and life is awesome. You should enjoy it! But if eating poorly and drinking at every social event you’re invited to means that you’re ultimately unhappy with your body and lacking confidence because of it, then it’s time to reassess what’s important to you.

How To Eat Clean With A Social Life:

I had to start saying no to my friends that wanted to go out every other weeknight and get brunch after every night we went out, and guess what…we’re still friends! I went from drinking all night to getting mimosas the next day and a burrito to either staying home OR at least getting up and working out the morning after a night out. If i can then I know you can too!

Whoaaaa rant much?!

Okay well LOVE you. Leave a comment to let me know what you think about all of this 🙂

x

ANXIETY & PAIN RELIEF: SOURCE CDB HEMP IS TO THE RESCUE.

Hi!

I need to share something magical with you guys because I’m the most sensitive person in the world when it comes to typical side effects of weed related products BUT I’ve found an actual gem that works for relieving anxiety, pain, controlling your 8 million thoughts at once, and allowing you to relax, but also get shit done.

 Let’s get into it:

SOURCE CBD HEMP:

I can’t smoke weed lol, like I’ve always wanted to be that person that could just take a hit and chill and feel relaxed and giggly or get super focused but that is just. not. what. happens. Whenever I try to smoke, even if it’s just a tinnnnny little puff to maybe help me sleep or bring down my anxiety, I get PUNCHED IN THE FACE with anxiety, body aches, shortness of breath and an endless stream of consciousness about weird shit haha SOOOO smoking is out.

But I’ve always been interested in the medicinal benefits of CBD and THC so when CBD became a thing that you could buy separately, I figured I would try that. I bought drops that you can take orally but the place I purchased them didn’t have just straight up CBD. They had one that was like a 18:1 ratio of CBD to THC so I figured that would be okay.

I tried it and it tasted DISGUSTING and even though it was nowhere near as intense as smoking weed, I still could feel the underlying paranoia.

So needless to say, the struggle has been real. Real and real annoying BUT I can officially say I found a CBD company that has something that works for me.

The company is called “SOURCE” and they sell herbal supplements that contain the highest quality hemp CBD oil on the market today.

I get random spurts of anxiety that can cause me to just be in a bad mood, start to worry, feel bad about myself and if paired with lack of sleep, it can lead to panic attacks.

Apparently my dad gets bad anxiety and his dad used to as well but whether or not it’s a genetics thing, I’m unsure. All I know is that I live a healthy lifestyle and I’m a positive person so to experience anxiety so often is really kind of terrible and not something I want to deal with and it’s definitely not something I would ever want to ask for medication for.

I got a bottle ofSource CBD Hemp Oil 500mg extra strength +their Topical Salve also 500mg extra strength and someHemp Extract Chapstick, just because.

They also have products for your pets which I have heard work really well. I don’t currently have a pet but if you have one that deals with anxiety then I think this would be an AMAZING option for them and easy to give to your pet!

To be totally honest - even though there is NO THC in this product, I was still nervous to use it hahah. I’ve just never experienced any kind of product related to weed that didn’t give me a little paranoia. BUT earlier today I was feeling mad anxiety.

I was getting lost in my own thoughts.

I was clenching my jaw.

I was getting up tight.

For no DAMN reason.

So I figured if there’s a time to use this stuff, it’s now.

I did 1/2 a mL instead of the full 1mL that is recommended and didn’t hate the taste (maybe because of the MCT coconut oil that it also has?).

While I was at it I noticed that my back was bothering me, right there in the pocket like under my shoulder blade and up to my neck. I get this often and it’s usually from skipping too many back workouts so it starts to get weak and allows my shoulders to creep forward which pulls on that area. Also from being on my computer a lot, my neck is tilted down a bit for hours on end which also pulls on that part of my lats SO I can safely say, it bothers me often.

I decided to rub the Topical Salve onto my neck and into the left side of my back and I’d say within 10 minutes, not only did it stop hurting but I’ve actually noticed that I’m letting my left shoulder relax back and down while I type instead of hiking it up towards my ears.

That could also be due to the oil kicking in, which I’d say also happened fully after about 10-20 minutes.

I went from feeling angst to feeling focused and relaxed. I don’t feel sleepy or out of it and there’s definitely no symptoms of paranoia or feeling uncomfortable. I just feel … chill.

Then I threw on the chapstick just to see what was up with that haha which is nice, feels like normal chap stick, no side effects from that.

This is a product that I really wanted to share with you guys because I think that a lot of you might be in the same boat as me and this is seriously something that I would suggest to any of my family members.

Something like this could also be beneficial to anyone that gets social anxiety or has too many thoughts flying around in their head when they’re trying to fall asleep.

Are you guys interested in products like this? Let me know in the comments below!

x

CAUSES OF BRAIN FOG - YOU'LL WANT A COFFEE FOR THIS.

Ugh, I have brain fog just trying to write this and I'm going to assume it's because it's almost 1:00pm on a hot ass Sunday

and all I've had is a protein bar and a latte and all I can think about is getting out my boogie boards and frolicking in the ocean for a hot minute. 

But on a serious note...you know how some days you just feel ON? You're awake, alert, happy. witty, smart, and just all around fabulous and then other days you feel like you developed 20 forehead wrinkles over night, your eyes feel like they're about to fall out of your face, your body hurts, and you don't know what time or day it is? 

Can I get an "I" for every girl who is SO FUCKING OVER the latter?

Personally I feel like I have a pretty good idea as to why some days I feel like Chrissy Teigen and other days I feel like Lindsey Lohan circa 2007, no offense.

For me I feel like the most common things are lack of QUALITY sleep with a splash of stress or anxiety so that's fun. 

BUT I wanted to do some more research and really figure out what could be causing it on such a consistent basis and HOLY SHIT, there's a lot that could be contributing to it.

I feel like all of the reasons make sense but it's interesting to read through it and ask yourself if you're really taking as good of care of yourself as you think you are. I learned so many more reasons as to why some days I may not feel my best and now I'm excited to obviously share them with you and also apply them to my own life to see how much better I feel. 
 

Also - I learned that fish oil is really helpful! SO let's get into what brain fog is, causes brain fog and then talk about what we can do to check in with ourselves and start to fix it.

What Brain Fog IS:

I mean, unfortunately, I feel like we're all WAY too familiar with what it is BUT just in case you're not...brain fog is a broad term that's used to describe feelings of fuzzy thinking, lack of focus and dimmed mental clarity. 

It feels difficult to remember simple things like where you put your keys, names of people and places and even memories. Or it could be a difficulty with quickly processing information which also takes away from our understanding and focus. 

It could look like a hard time navigating, calculating, problem solving, planning and organizing. 

And then to top it off, if your having brain fog you're likely having a lost of second guessing plus a lack of focus and pretty much horrible mental clarity. 

Safe to say we've probably all been here a time or two, ay?

Causes of Brain Fog:

Typically it's going to be due to poor life style choices, the side effect of a medication or the result of a medical condition. 

Diet:

SUGAR -

Refined carbs and sugary snacks or drinks metabolize too quickly which causes our blood sugar levels to go up, up upppp. Our brains love glucose aka blood sugar SO we immediately feel energized and happy but, insulin comes in and removes the excess glucose in an attempt to bring our levels back to normal. 

This decrease in blood sugar causes us to experience mood swings, irritability, brain fog an tiredness. If you are insulin resistant then brain fog may also be an issue because your brain is most likely not getting enough glucose so consider eating a diet high in fiber, protein, meats, fish and nuts. 

LOW FAT DIETS -

Fat plays a big role in the quality of our brain so jumping on the band wagon of low fat diets may not be a great idea if brain fog is something that you're experiencing or wanting to avoid.

The other day I was reading Max Lugavere's Genius Foods Book and he explained that most of us are consuming a diet VERY high in Omega 6's and VERY low in Omega-3's. Like 25 TIMES more Omega 6's than 3's. NO BUENO. 

Omegs - 6's are an underlying cause of inflammation which may be triggering brain fog, as well as ADHD and Anxiety. I personally just started taking 2,000mg of fish oil a day to help with my anxiety and I am SO excited to see how it nourishes me over the next month at least. 

FOOD ALLERGIES -

I think it's fair to wonder that if a certain food has such a negative effect on your body, what kind of effect could it have on your brain?

Common food allergies include dairy, shellfish, peanuts and tree nuts but some of the MOST popular food allergies in the U.S. are Corn, Soy and Gluten.

According to Max Lugavere's Book as well as Michael Pollen's "Debunks Food Myths", "the average American gets 2/3 of their calories from wheat, corn and soy." (STUDY)

So looking further into the effects on Brain Fog when removing those foods from your diet could be really beneficial if you ask me!

WHEAT - 

Wheat deserves it's own section haha. Remember, we're talking about foods within our diet that may be linked to some kind of brain fog right? Well schizophrenia, autism, and epilepsy are all BRAIN DISORDERS that show strong associations with the consumption of gluten. 

OBVIOUSLY gluten isn't the primary factor that causes any of those issues but studies DO suggest that they may be a contributing factor. (STUDY 1) (STUDY 2) (STUDY 3) (STUDY 4) 

Going gluten free also won't be the cure all for all health problems (even though everyone in LA seems to think so haha) but it is something that I think is worth experimenting with because I think our society is SO addicted to carbs in general that if we could learn to replace those calories and carbs with fiber and protein rich foods, everyone would see a reduction in their weight. 

I don't personally have an issue with gluten but that's not because I went and did any kind of fancy test with my doctor. I simply did the Elimination technique that's in my Total Reset Two Week Cleanse, and I was able to enjoy a lot of healthy, un processed foods while not consuming any of the foods that people are typically sensitive to. 

This might be a good place for you to start as well if you feel like your diet could be cleaned up and if you want to try and pin point the foods that irritate you personally. 

What I DID notice though when I went on a very low carb diet for 30 days (50g of carbs or less) was that I consumed less calories, felt more full, and looked leaner! 

DEHYDRATION -

So when I was going to the Academy at Show Up Fitness in West Hollywood to become a personal trainer, I LEARNED SO MUCH! But! One thing that really stuck with me was when my coach said "it only takes 2% dehydration to affect your attention, memory, and other cognitive skills". (STUDY)

WHAT! That's insane to me. To think that if you're feeling a little off, it could simply be that you are the slightest bit dehydrated and all you need is more water. But most of us think we need coffee or a nap or that our life is just too hectic. Next time you're not feeling 100, ask yourself, have I had enough water today?

Dehydration can result in fatigue, light headedness, confusion, anxiety, dizziness, and could be causing your brain fog. 

CAFFEINE AND ALCOHOL WITH DRAWL - 

These are clearly 2 things that are known to be so addicting that people feel inclined to take a coffee or alch detox for days, weeks, or even months at a time. This is great but don't be surprised by the headaches, brain fog, mood swings, and fatigue that shows up after about 1 day of detoxing. 

Nutritional Deficiencies 

YEEEUP. Go figure. Being less than satisfactory in any of the nutrients below could be what's causing your brain fog. 

- Vitamin B12

(Read about the top 10 Vitamin B-12 Rich Foods)

- Vitamin D

(Here's 9 Healthy Foods that are High In Vitamin D)

- Omega 3's

(Know 12 Foods that are VERY High in Omega - 3's)

- Magnesium 

(10 Magnesium Rich Foods That Are Also Healthy)

Lack Of Quality Sleep

Ouf. This was a rough one for me when I was getting 4-6 hours of sleep almost nightly due to working like a psycho person and going to school and training and health coaching, let me tell ya. 

Lack of sleep causes memory issues, mood changes, and trouble with thinking and concentration. Your brain function is completely altered and I think it effects more of us than we even realize. I know a lot of people get romantic with the idea of "grinding" and "hustling" and just being super fucking busy but honestly, it's not cool IF you are not able to take care of yourself along the way. 

When I was really busy it was interesting to see how many people were saying, "Well you're doing so well and working so hard!", "You're killing it!!" And I was like, "I feel like I'm killing myself lolz". 

But really. I didn't feel cool. I didn't feel like I was being the best version of myself or feel like I was actually even doing that great of a job because I was SO exhausted all the time that I was just a boring person to be around. 

We actually form connections during sleep that help us process and remember new information so a lack of sleep can impact both short and long term memory. 

Chronic sleep loss can lead to anxiety and depression which I think explains why I had my first panic attack during those busy months. PLUS concentration, creativity, and problem solving skills all decline. 

READ THIS:

"Moderate sleep deprivation produces impairments equivalent to those of alcohol intoxication. After 17-19 hours without sleep, performance was equivalent or worse than that of a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05%. After longer periods with out sleep, performance reached levels equivalent to a blood alch concentration of 0.1%." (STUDY)

This is why sometimes when you're super tired and pull a weird night where you're in bed by like 5:00 am and up at 8:00am - you feel hungover. 

Stress:

Ohhh, I am all too familiar with this. Chronic stress leads to insomnia, memory loss, anxiety, weight gain, and depression AND it puts you at a greater risk for diseases that you want to avoid like dementia and Alzheimer's. So if you're stressed because of work for example, it makes it hard to sleep, which compounds into feeling massive brain fog. See how easy it is to feel like we're always a little off?

Being Physically Inactive: 

Lack of movement has so many negative effects on the brain. This research argues that physical exercise may be the single most important thing that you can do for your brain. When we exercise, we bring more oxygen to the brain and reduce cortisol all while stimulating new brain function. SO GO MOVE. Especially during those times where you feel like you're tired and don't know why, or when you just want to crawl into bed. 

I PROMISE YOU WILL FEEL SO MUCH BETTER. Just get that blood flowing!

AGH, okay so that's a lot right? I mean, for me I usually always assumed that it was stress or lack of sleep like I explained before but I came to realize that I haven't been eating much fat lately, and especially with how hot it's been I need to be drinking MORE water than usual. If you feel like you're suffering from Brain Fog, try going through the list of natural remedies below and seeing if anything could use more attention in your life. 

Tips For Getting Rid Of Brain Fog

+ Eliminate processed foods and if you consume any foods that you know irritate you, eliminate those all well. 

+ Start getting some more healthy fats in your diet. I LOVE THIS FISH OIL. And as always, be cautious that you're not trying a million new fatty snacks all at once because they can pack a lot of calories. Instead, just try adding a little olive oil or avocado to your next meal and take a fish oil supplement. We want to increase brain function, not gain weight. 

+ Get high quality sleep. Check out my blog (5 Sleeping Tips for Students and Women Who Are Busy AF!) to see how I managed to get the best sleep that i could even though my schedule was insane. 

+ EXERCISE!

+ Try meditating to reduce stress.

+ Get a check up to see if you have any unknown medical conditions.

If you guys have any more tips please leave them below!

X

WHAT CAUSES INFLAMMATION IN THE BODY

Hi Hi Hi!

Okay so hear me out. I just got back from vaca and we all wondered about why we get bloated, why we get acne, why we can't lose weight as quickly as our friends, and why our knees hurt so damn bad right?

There's obviously different reasons for all this ish and a million different ways to go about fixing it but I feel like one thing that a lot of people are overlooking is INFLAMMATION. 

I mean, if you think about it...we talk about it almost on a daily basis on so many different levels. We've started using cryotherapy to reduce inflammation in our muscles, we use turmeric to reduce inflammation in the body, facial massage to reduce inflammation in the face, anti-inflammatory foods to reduce inflammation in our gut, yoga to reduce it..everywhere? And omega-3's to help with our heart health, brain function, and arthritis aka... inflammation. 

HOLY HELL RIGHT? It's EVERYWHERE. 

This is why I want to talk about it. OKAY SO. 

What is Inflammation?

Well, there's different levels of inflammation but in any case, inflammation is point blank... a defense mechanism within the body. So when anything is harming or irritating a part of our body, the body tries...key word "tries"... to remove it.

The cool thing about inflammation is that it is a healing process soo we wouldn't heal without it. The shitty thing is that it sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) it can stick around longer than we need it to, at which point it can turn into an annoying issue orrrrr chronic pain. AWESOME......

But we're ALL dealing with inflammation in some way, shape or form so let's talk about

WHAT CAUSES INFLAMMATION?

Ugh, I feel like everything under the effing sun is a cause of inflammation. Here's a few:

+ Certain Foods

+ Synthetic Chemicals

+ Food Additives

+ Viruses

+ Bacteria

+ Parasites

+ Stress

+ Lack of Sleep (my fav.....eye roll)

Things like a sore throat, a cut or a burn (I just got one in Montana when the oven door was about to slam shut and I decided to catch it with my forearm...cool cool cool) anyway... those kinds of things can cause ACUTE inflammation. 

Then there's other news called CHRONIC inflammation.

Chronic inflammation means that inflammation occurs for months and even YEARS and it's caused by things like asthma, Crohn's Disease, arthritis, and ulcers...to name a few. 

BUT inflammation can go from acute to chronic if we don't take care of it so just a reminder to be on your game when it comes to little injuries or health issues ya know?

PS I don't want to skim over the foods that can cause inflammation so let's talk about it. 

Things such as:

- Sugar

- High Fructose Corn Syrup

- Artificial Trans Fats

- Vegetable and Seed Oils

- Refined Carbs

- Excessive amount of Alch

+ Processed Meats

etc.

This is why you may have heard of the ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIET.

Honestly, it's just a clean, normal diet. Get rid of eating an abundance of fast food and start eating healthy, clean, nutrient dense foods and obviously, you're going to feel better. 

We all know that food allergies and toxins and bacteria from foods can make us feel some type of way but WHAT is actually going on?

Well...because of these things...foods are actually able to create inflammation through our intestinal wall. If your body is sensible to certain foods then your body sees it like a foreign invader and starts attacking it which, causes that inflammation. 

So simply by reducing the intake of certain foods that our specific bodies don't agree with, we are able to start reducing inflammation. 

How STRESS causes inflammation:

Ugh, the more I learned about this, the more I hated it. I've always known stress is horrible for us which is why I try to avoid it AT ALL COSTS but this was a healthy reminder for me and hopefully you as to why everything stressful from an argument with our parents to psychological stress is capable of producing inflammation in the body. 

Stress actually produces a type of inflammation that has been shown to increase the risk of arthritis, cardiovascular disease and diabetes :( This is something that I talk to my clients about ALL THE TIME. 

Stress is a HUGE issue for our health and directly impacts our ability to lose weight. When were under psychological stress, our bodies releases stress hormones as part of the fight or flight response. So it's SUPPOSED to be helpful in certain situations and definitely can be BUT because so many of us are stressed all day, this fight or flight response never turns off. 

This equals CHRONIC STRESS which equals CHRONIC INFLAMMATION which is a MAJOR RISK FACTOR FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE.

And then to top it off, too much stress releases cortisol levels which, according to a study in 2012 by Carnegie Mellon University, too much stress dampens cortisol's ability to REGULATE inflammation. So now we're creating inflammation and making it harder on ourselves to control it. 

How Health Problems Cause Inflammation:

Well for one, Obesity is not great for inflammation. And on top of that there's unhealthy eating which we touched on a little bit already. So just as a re cap... inflammation can be triggered by fat and blood sugar or by bacteria, allergies and other toxins. 

WHY IS INFLAMMATION BAD FOR OUR BODIES?

I mean, I feel we should know right? No more ignoring the signs and letting little things get worse or pushing things off like everything is okay. I don't want to scare you guys haha but I feel like this info will be useful to you now and in the long term.

1. Immune cells can attack the digestive tract and create Crohn's disease with symptoms such as well...diarrhea, cramps and ulcers. 

2. It can harm your joints such as the condition known as Rheumatoid Arthritis.

3. It's linked to heart disease aka HEART ATTACKS (You know how when you get a cut on your skin and then all those white blood cells rush over and it starts to become swollen? That's the same thing that starts to happen when there's a build up of fatty plaque in the arteries. It triggers chronic inflammation which can cause blood clots).

4. Whether you have inflammatory conditions due to obesity or a chronic condition, you're unfortunately at a higher risk for cancer. This includes lung, esophagus, cervix, digestive tract and others. 

5. It's no bueno for your lungs. Inflammation in the lungs = a narrowing of the airways which makes it difficult to breathe. This could be due to asthma, smoking and being overweight. 

6. It makes weight loss more difficult. Chronic inflammation can trigger hunger hormones AND SLOW METABOLISM. (WTF!)

Now we're eating more and burning less. Fantastic. This inflammatory response can also increase insulin resistance which raises your risk for diabetes and is linked with future weight gain. 

Are You Suffering From Inflammation?

Most of the time if we scan our bodies from head to toe, we can find signs or symptoms that are signals that something we are being exposed to must be removed. 

This could be:

+ Skin issues like acne, rashes, psoriasis.

+ Brain fog/Fatigue

+ Sinus Issues

+ Weight Gain

+ Allergies/Infections

+ Autoimmune Disease

The only thing I want to mention about this really quickly is....remember that inflammation is typically a RESPONSE to something else that is happening. So the best thing to do is to figure out WHY you have inflammation, and then focus on fixing THAT so that you can start reducing inflammation.

Here's the basics:

- Are you eating a clean diet filled with nutritious foods?

- Are you getting enough sleep?

- Are you drinking enough water?

- Are you taking time to meditate and relax?

These last 4 months for me were SO insane as a lot of you know from following my long days and even longer nights on Instagram. I tried my best for the first two and a half months of my hectic schedule to make sure that my short nights of sleep were at least GOOD sleep. I tried to meditate for at least 10 minutes a day, drink more than enough water, and eat clean.

Before I knew it, I suffered from my first panic attack and realized that I'm not some magical human. I need sleep. I need time for myself. I need to de stress. 

WE ALL DO. 

So if you're feeling overwhelmed, stop. Clear your schedule. Stay home. Take yourself to the movies. Book a breathing class or a meditation yoga or something. WHATEVER. 

Comment below if you have any questions or helpful tips for reducing inflammation!

X

WHY I STARTED EATING MEAT AFTER 4 YEARS OF BEING PESCATARIAN

Ummmm WHOA, right?

Where do I even begin?? I guess first of all I'd like to acknowledge the fact that I have written blogs in the past talking about why we SHOULDN'T eat meat. This is the biggest reason why I spent the last 3 weeks eating meat, and not really telling anyone. 

I didn't want to post any of my meals that included meat even though I was feeling AMAZING. 

I didn't want to tell my family or friends because so many nights that they would host dinner, they would make something different JUST for me, or forget that I was vegetarian and feel bad. 

I didn't want to tell people where I was going to eat etc. 

Obviously this got me to start thinking about what I was going to do...Do I stop eating meat again because I've labeled myself as a vegetarian therefore I have to stay that way?

Or do I swallow my pride and be honest and explain WHY..?

Obviously I'm going with the latter because I SUCK at lying haha SO all I ask is that you read this post with an open mind and either agree, or agree. Haha just kidding. Just hear me out. 

So 4 years ago I decided to stop eating meat for a few reasons:

1.

I read about how horrible meat was for people in a book by Tony Robbins who I admire.

2.

I grew up eating pork, steak, chicken, turkey, carne asada, you name it, so when I was officially moved out of my parents house and living in LA with my best friend from high school, I figured it was the perfect time to give this lifestyle a try since A. I was broke and meat wasn't really in my budget anyways haha, and B. Because I wouldn't be coming home to it every night soo how hard could it be?

3.

I had trained for a fitness competition for about 2.5 months right before I moved to LA, and my trainer at the time had me eating SOO MUCH fucking turkey and chicken that NO LIE, I legit had a bad dream about chickens one night and woke up the next morning SICK at the thought, smell, look of it hahaaha... isn't that ridiculous ???

Then honestly, I never craved meat after that. I found substitutions to everything I wanted. I found veggie burgers, jack fruit tacos, tofurkey, etc. I found my new lifestyle to be super easy and I felt like I was doing my body a favor - WHICH - in a way I think I was. I grew up having meat at every single meal so I think taking a little break was fine. Also, since I ate meat I would eat things like MASSIVE carne asada burritos, buffalo wings, processed meats, and sloppy joes which is just a calorie castle ha.

So taking out meat allowed me to refocus my attention on leaner things in general. Fish, veggies, fruit and lots of salads. 

It also allowed me to teach other people how you can have a delicious well balanced meal without meat which I think is just good to know. 

So why make the switch back?

Well, oddly enough, I just noticed over the course of about a week that I was CRAVING meat. Like all I could think about for every meal was having a LEGIT hamburger. But I kept putting it off and avoiding it and trying to think of a different cheat meal I wanted but that was it. 

Then my best buddy from San Diego came into town and we decided that we were going to go to Korean BBQ. Again - I was thinking CHEAT MEAL. 

She's known me for 11 years and she's known that for the last 4 years that I had been pescatarian but I told her when we sat down to eat that I was just going to say fuck it and go for it. 

We sat there for 2 hours picking at chicken and steak and vegetables (and a little sake of course) and I just couldn't stop telling her how GOOD I felt. It was soooo bizarre. I mean I was waiting for my stomach to like back flip and explode but sure enough I was FULL but not STUFFED and my stomach was still flat and I felt energized. 

Over the next couple of weeks I dabbled into eating some of my boyfriends chicken, or trying his steak while I ordered salmon salads and the whole combination was just feeling GOOD. 

Okay - so here's my question.

Where did this random ass craving come from??

I started thinking about it more and more and I think I figured it out. I'm going to school right now to be a personal trainer. Every Monday - Thursday I'm in class with fitness professionals who have been in the biz for 12+ years. I'm learning SO much from them and have been humbled over and over again when I learn something that I thought to be already knowledgable on. 

My coach started asking us to do food logs so that we could start tracking our calories and seeing how much we're REALLY consuming vs. how much we should be consuming if our goal is to lose weight or vice versa for the boys...gain weight. 

I did a 3 day food log and found that I was getting about 1/2 as much protein as I should be, my carbs were higher than where I would have liked them, and my calories we're about 500 calories A DAY over where I wanted them.. 

WTF.

I was surprised and motivated to get my macros where they needed to be but I kept finding it difficult because ya girl can only eat so much salmon and shrimp before she wanted to kill huh'self. The smell was starting to gross me out. FUCK, I thought. 

So I moved on to more protein bars and protein shakes which are GREAT but they weren't keeping me full as long as I would have liked them to. So I added more fats but with that came more calories. DAMMIT. 

haha. (Sorry for cursing mom).

Anyways - then I just felt like I couldn't eat anything. I sucked it up and had salads, protein shakes and protein bars and LOTS of coffee and water. (Mind you, I used to think I could just get protein from beans and chic peas but remember - I was also trying to keep my carbs low).

I was getting results this way but wasn't feeling the most satisfied and there lingering in the back of my mind was "just go get some effing chicken." 

So that's what I did and I'm now hitting my macros EASILY and I'm SO excited that I can start making soooo many more recipes ESPECIALLY ones from Kelly LeVeque's Book,

Body Love

Kelly LeVeque is a celebrity nutritionist who I admire and have had the pleasure of meeting. I met her at a work out event and was happy to find that she is just as genuine as she comes off as in her writing. I read her book as a pescatarian and at first was surprised with how many animal product recipes she had, but they sounded bomb. 

LEMON GARLIC ROAST CHICKEN, SWEET COCONUT CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI, SAUCEY PALEO MEATBALLS.

So when I started feeling like I wanted to eat meat again, I direct messaged her on Insta and just straight up told her what I was going through. I mentioned that I wanted to eat meat again but felt bad because I had told so many other girls why they shouldn't. But I knew she was an advocate for it and I think she's EXTREMELY intelligent when it comes to nutrition so she said:

"I'm so glad you've incorporated it [meat]. It truly is a multi vitamin of energy. [Read] FOOD by Dr Hyman or Genius Foods by Max Lugavere."

I think simply feeling like I had her support in a way made me feel like what I was doing was OK. I purchased Genius Foods on iBooks that same day and have listened to a few podcasts featuring Max Lugavere so I'm excited to continue reading and learn how meat is beneficial.

Want to Listen?

Check out this podcast by Ultimate Health featuring Max.

Or this one on the jordan Harbinger Show

So far I've learned of course that we want to avoid processed meats, go for grass fed and lean meats whenever possible, limit our consumption of red meat AND I've learned that meat is beneficial for women because it reduces our risk for anxiety and depression...still learning how though. 

Either way, I felt like I wanted to write this blog for you guys in case any of you are feeling like satan for wanting to eat meat again. 

Like I say... DO YOU. Listen to your body and go with what feels RIGHT. 

If you have any questions or comments, leave them below or on my insta!

XXX

SHOULD YOU BE COUNTING YOUR CALORIES?

Hi Hi Hi! 

I'm really excited to talk to you guys about this topic because I've been talking to my clients about this a lot more lately and it's been one of the biggest and easiest factors in their weight loss journey. 

Okay so you guys know how I'm going to school to be a trainer right now? YEAH. School to be a PERSONAL TRAINER. Ever heard of it ;) Honestly, I hadn't. I thought you just took a class online and then got certified and then BAM, you're a personal trainer. 

Turns out that thats what most trainers do which is why most trainers actually aren't very good but - that's a different post. 

Anyways - I go to school at Show Up Academy here in LA and I AM OBSESSED WITH IT. My coach is super dope and VERY knowledgeable which is where this whole concept of counting calories came back into my life. 

So like 5 years ago, I was horribly OBSESSED with counting my calories. I put myself on a strict 1,000 calories a day diet while working out because - well - I was an idiot haha and I'm pretty sure I had body dysmorphia. 

Once I realized that I had an obsession with counting calories every second of every day, I did my best to stop, and let myself eat according to what felt good. Ever since then, I stopped counting calories and really just tried to pay attention to the ingredients that were in the foods I was eating. 

I think because I already had a good idea of the calories in most things that I was able to choose super healthy things and not feel like I was over eating them, AND THIS is where I notice a lot of girls are confused today. 

---

A lot of girls are on the "counting ingredients" train. Meaning - a lot of us are eating things that are healthy and trendy like non gmo, organic, all natural etc, which is GREAT, but because it's healthy doesn't mean that we can eat endless amounts of it. 

---

This is why when clients come to me and tell me that they eat super healthy but they aren't losing weight...as a matter of fact they're GAINING weight, I ask them to do a food log for me. 

The food log consists of logging your macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, and protein) plus calories for 2-3 days. And NO cheating!

I want to see it all!

The almond milk in your coffee, the olive oil on your salad and in your sauteed veggies, plus the 1 glass of wine and 1 small bag of chips you had after dinner. 

THESE ALL HAVE CALORIES! We like to make up rules when it comes to food and say that "this doesn't count" or "this is basically like 0 calories" haha, it's actually pretty funny when you think about it. It's like mmmm nope! Pretty sure that olive oil just added an extra 130 calories to your daily intake.

Or when we say "I just had hummus. Hummus is healthy!" Did you eat half of the container? I think I've probably done that before, it's pretty easy to be honest haha and it's also like 350 calories. Also did you eat it with about 13 gluten free crackers? That's another 140 calories. 

I'm not saying that any of this is bad AT ALL. I'm just suggesting that maybe we should consider paying closer attention to what the calories are in the foods we're eating if our goal is weight loss. Because if it IS, then a hummus and gluten free cracker snack that is 490 calories is something we need to be aware of, ya know?!

And I hope that I'm not coming off like I'm some kind of saint because I'm not haha. Doing a food log is very humbling even for me! I'll go a week or two thinking I'm eating cleaner than I am and doing a food log always brings me back to reality. 

So it's not so that we can look it over and beat ourselves up over it, it's just so that we can be aware of what were doing and change it if necessary !

Here's what I suggest:

Download this food log that I created and fill it out for 2-3 days! (You'll want to print multiple copies, I'd say 1-2 per day). If you have a cheat day, fill out the food log, if you have a super clean day, fill out the food log, if you have a day where you didn't have much time to eat and your energy sucked all day, fill out the food log. 

This will give you an idea of what your range is :)

After you fill it out, e-mail me at info@chelseyrosehealth.com and we can discuss what to do next! I can help you figure out how many calories you should be eating on a day to day basis depending on your goals, and I can help you figure out what to start removing from your diet in order to make weight loss happen smoothly :)

OR - just start with the two week reset cleanse!! All of my clients have noticed results with this cleanse so this is a great place to start :)

That's all for today! I hope the food log helps you out :)

X

Chelsey

MY TOP 5 GO TO ENERGY ELIXIRS

SUPEROODS, MUSHROOMS AND DUSTS, OH MYYYY!

Seriously though...YES YES YES, I am so happy you guys requested this blog post because this is the shit that I have at least one of on a daily basis! I got so used to using these that it seemed natural but a lot of you we're always asking how you can jump o some extra energy and were wondering what the hell was in my purse haha SO here it is!

These are ALWAYS in my cabinet or purse and they go into either my smoothie or my earl grey latte on a daily basis. 

I am SUPER busy and I love it, but this list has been the secret to my energy and focus from morning to night. 

I swear by everything here so check them out and see if anything resonates with you! I will leave links to them at the bottom if you want to purchase anything right away!

As always, let me know on Insta or comment below for other blog ideas or topics that you want me to talk about!

X

GET THE ENERGY ELIXIRS:

Moon Juice - Organic + Wildcrafted Edible Joy (Spirit Dust, 1.5 oz)

Four Sigmatic Organic Mushroom Elixir Mix with Lion's Mane and Antioxidants for Concentration + Focus, Vegan, Paleo, 0.1 Ounce (20 Count)

MRM - Maca Root Raw Superfood, Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, Vegan and Gluten-Free (8.5 oz)

Bulletproof Brain Octane Oil, Reliable and Quick Source of Energy (16 Ounces)

https://www.onnit.com/alpha-brain-instant/

XXXX

WHY YOU'RE STILL GETTING BLOATED, EVEN AFTER A HEALTHY MEAL

Okay, does this ever happen to you guys?

I work late nights at a Hotel cocktail lounge and sometimes it just gets so insanely busy that there is NOOO time for a break. There's hardly any time to breathe let alone think about food. 

I'll get slammed for like 4 hours straight and then as soon as I have a second, I'll run to the guys at room service (they love me) and see if they can make me a salmon salad. Then I'll go back out to the floor and bust my ass for another 15 minutes then I'll run and get my food and bring it back up stairs with me where I try to grab a bite ( or 5) of it in between all the other shit I'm doing.  

I get a 5 star meal packed with the best protein, the best veggies, butter lettuce, goat cheese and a lemon vinaigrette and eat it like a starved dog without any recollection of how it smelled or tasted. (Sometimes if I'm feeling really slutty I'll throw in a pretzel roll with basically a stick of butter and just die and go to my own little heaven for a second). 

I hardly (aka NEVER) feel satisfied after eating like this and then THE WORST PART, I go home two hours later with a fucking food baby the size of a football and just wonder to myself...

HOW THE EF, am I so bloated?!?!

I probably just walked 10,000 steps, I haven't sat down in at least 6 hours and I ate a SALMON SALAD Jesus Christ I just CANNOT. 

SO. with me going back to school and all to be a health coach (holla at me ;) ) I'm learning A LOT. There is so much info that I can't wait to share with you guys but for today, we're talking allll about this eating healthy, staying active, and still getting bloated situation, because it's pretty effing annoying. 

Here's the main thing that we are all doing wrong and some tips on how to fix the problem, for good. 

EATING UNDER STRESS

The number one, worst thing you can possibly do if you are trying to avoid getting bloated. When we are stressed our brain can't differentiate from 'real life about to be swallowed by a shark' stress versus 'short staffed hectic night at work' stress. 

All it knows is that it is in a fight or flight mode. So when it comes to stress and our digestion, there's a few things that happen here. 

First, our blood leaves our stomach and get's pumped to our arms and legs (essentially, to run if we need to) and causes our body to NOT try and focus on digesting ANYTHING. It's only thought is to RUN. Nothing else. 

So our nervous system turns our stress on, and our digestion OFF. 

So right off the bat we know that if we want to digest anything we need to be relaxed. A good analogy for this is basically any other culture other than Americans haha. 

This shows that WHAT we eat is actually just 1/2 of the equation. HOW we eat is the other half. 

I even decided to test this out the other night after learning all of this amazing information. I was at work, hungry, but not busy. I decided to go grab a pretzel roll with butter and a salmon salad just to have something to munch on and I ate it over the course of about 30 minutes. 

I didn't get bloated, i felt satisfied and I didn't even feel too full. I FELT AMAZING. 

So the question that we all need to focus on is HOW do we focus more on staying in a calm state while we eat so that we don't overeat, become bloated, and cause in digestion?

Try these 6 tips next time you sit down for a meal and see how it QUICKLY helps you and makes you more aware of how you really feel. 

1. HAVE A 20 MINUTE MEAL.

Okay NO MATTER WHAT, from here on out, I want every meal you have to take 20 minutes. Next time you eat something, just turn the timer on on your phone, eat normally, and turn the timer off when you're finished. 

You might be SHOCKED with how quickly you we're able to put down a meal haha, I usually hover around 10 minutes.

Next time you eat try to just make sure that you add 5 minutes to your eating time. Do this until you've hit 20 minutes and then repeat that for 7 days and notice how different you feel. 

When we eat too quickly, we don't give our brain and our stomach enough time to make the connection that we are eating. So we stuff our faces with all this food and then BAM. ALL OF THE SUDDEN our brain realizes what is going on and tells us to STOPPPPP. 

At this point we've already over indulged and if we're in a stressful environment or ate while we were internally stressed, then alll that food is going to sit there until your body feels like it is safe. THEN it will start the digestion process. 

If we eat slowly over a period of 20 minutes, we will be able to properly work with our body and allow it to signal us if we are full or not. 

2. PUT UTENSIL DOWN 3 TIMES DURING A MEAL

This will help you hit your 20 minute mark. Have a few bites and then set your fork DOWN. JUST CHILL the ef out for a second, okay?! Make this your goal, maybe even make it 5 times! This will help you to eat less instead of having one bite in your throat with another bite in your mouth and another bite on your fork. 

3. BREATHE BETWEEN BITES

Okay, this is interesting. Oxygen helps to speed up the metabolism. I know this makes sense because when I work out, I'm hungrier throughout the day and I usually always go to the bathroom more regularly when I work out. Just FYI. 

There's actually something called Villi (Pronounced VEAL) in our intestines that's PRIMARY job is to absorb nutrients and it does this by extracting large quantities of oxygen to break down a meal. 

• When the blood lacks oxygen for the villi to pick up, the nutrient absorption decreases. 
• When the blood has plenty of oxygen, the nutrient absorption increases. 

SO BREATHE in between your bites. This is basically the OPPOSITE of what I would do while I was stuffing my face with salmon behind a wall at work so, I'm working on this too haha. 

4. CHEW YOUR FOOD AND EAT WITH YOUR SENSES. 

Did you know that your digestive process actually begins in your mouth? Your mouth starts releasing enzymes that break down your food which is why REALLY chewing each bite and USING your sense of taste and smell is so important. 

When food is inadequately broken down, it can easily pass through your GI tract without absorbing the appropriate nutrients. 

ALSO did you know, there's actually a muscle at the base of your stomach that CONTROLS the passage of food into your small intestine. You know how we relax that muscle? SIMPLY CHEWING. So just chew that ish. 

5. EAT UNTIL SATISFIED, NOT FULL.

Why the hell do we eat until we're too full anyways when we KNOW we HATE the way it makes us feel? Well one, it's a habit. And because it's likely that throughout the day or the week, we are constantly depriving, denying, disconnecting and dieting. 

Once you start the "20 minute meal" like we mentioned above, you'll notice at a certain point that you actually are satisfied and you'll probably start moving away from getting SO full. 

Next time you go out to eat with friends, play the "slowest eater" game with yourself. 

Just be the last one to finish your plate and I bet that 1. you'll notice how FAST everyone around you eats, and you'll notice that as the dinner goes on, you won't finish your food or you'll realize you weren't quite as hungry as you thought you were. 

Keep me updated on how you feel after trying 1 or all of these tips!!

XX

MAKE YOUR BODY GO FROM A SUGAR BURNER TO A FAT BURNER IN 2 STEPS

How often do you feel yourself thinking or telling someone, "I just want to lose some fat...".

I feel like girls are asking me how to do this ALL the time. We all want to put on lean muscle, lose weight and burn fat. Haha GOALS.

What you'll learn is that muscle weighs more than fat so if you want to gain muscle and drop the number on the scale, you're probably going to be disappointed. This is why I tell people to STOP paying attention to the number on the scale BUT that's for another post...

What I want to talk about today is FAT BURN. 

I know for me personally, I'd like to know how I can make my body burn more fat all day long. 

Anyone else?

I started looking into this and what I found was two words that you may or may not have ever heard of, and two simple steps.

The words I'm going to use in this post a lot are INSULIN and GLUCAGON. So just be aware, and don't let me lose you. The concept is actually pretty straight forward and it makes sense. It's also an easy fix so let's get into it!

Right now most people are what we'll call A SUGAR BURNER. 

If you eat bread, drink sodas, love rice, pancakes, sushi, cookies, pasta, or any other white simple carbs, you're probably a sugar burner. 

Basically what happens when we eat anything bad for us (simple carbs and sugar), we get a big spike in our blood sugar which makes us feel like we have energy. Our brain thinks that this is an emergency since it was so sudden and signals our pancreas to send out a ton of insulin. 

The insulins job is to LOWER blood sugar by transporting the sugar (glucose) to the muscles and liver. So as it is doing this, the insulin is actually blocking any access to your fat storages because well, sugar is much easier burn QUICKLY. 

Then, if there is any excess glucose that can't get pushed into the muscles or liver, your body starts storing it as fat. 

So just from eating something bad, our body not only BLOCKS our fat storages from being used as energy but it also DEPOSITS more sugar AS fat. 

LOSE LOSE SITUATION. 

So then I read about something called Glucagon (GLUE-CA-GONE) and even though it is also secreted from the pancreas, it has the opposite effect of insulin. Insulin and glucagon are sort of like a see-saw so when one goes up, the other one comes down. 

Glucagon is a FAT BURNING hormone. It literally signals the body to release stored fat and to burn it as fuel. 

SO I basically wanted to know how I could get this Glucagon thing to be signaled to do that, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. 

---

HOW TO STIMULATE MORE GLUCAGON

Brace yourself, it's only 2 steps. 

1. Eat more LOW GLYCEMIC foods.

Don't worry, I had to look up low glycemic too. This basically means that by eating low glycemic foods you are consuming foods with less sugar. Anything that is considered LOW GLYCEMIC is considered a food that you can eat that will not spike your blood sugar. 

This tends to be COMPLEX CARBS. Think of things like oats, brown rice, whole grain bread, bananas, lentils and whole grain pasta.

These foods tend to be brown as opposed to white. 

WHY?

Because a white pasta compared to a brown pasta only means that the white pasta has been stripped of all its nutrients like fiber and vitamins and minerals. This is why it has essentially no color and why it spikes your blood sugar! 

Fiber helps things digest slowly so if you eat something without fiber then it will do exactly what we are trying to avoid and spike your blood sugar. 

Here is a list of low glycemic foods. If you have a question about a particular food just google it :)

2. EAT PROTEIN

This is the other way that we are going to turn our bodies into fat burning machines. 

Protein directly stimulates the production of Glucagon. Did you get that?

Protein directly stimulates the production of Glucagon.

Protein directly stimulates the production of Glucagon.

Eating protein tells your body that it is safe to burn fat and it also keeps you fuller for longer periods of time which helps you stay satisfied on a low calorie diet. 

Make it your goal to eat protein with every meal. Nutrition stripped has a perfect layout here of the 10 plant based proteins you should be eating. 

I also found a study that was featured in the Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology where researches did an experiment on rats (gross I know) BUT they injected one group of rats with insulin and the other group of rats with glucagon. 

The rats that received the insulin gained body fat and ate more while the rats with glucagon lost body fat. 

Being a sugar burner means that you are a fat accumulator so try these tips to become an energized fat burner!

If you have any questions or comments leave them below! I love talking with you guys!

XX

HOW TO GET A DEEP LIVER CLEANSE

It only takes a few days of drinking in a row to feel like you're liver probbbbably needs a little break, am I right?

I mean I know that everyone always goes on cleanses from alch but I feel like if you're going to do that then you might as well spend your time also actually CLEANSING your liver while you're at it. 

Last time I went on a cleanse from alch I spent the week drinking dandelion root tea everyday and loved knowing that it was helping me out. Dandelion root has nutrients that help stimulate bile production and cleanses the liver to keep everything moving smoothly so you also get better digestion. 

I definitely noticed that I felt better which made me want to dive deeper into HOW to actually cleanse my liver and figure out what else I could take to really make a difference. 

I learned that I was on the right track with the dandelion root tea but I also found out that there are 3 other main liver cleansing ingredients:

• MILK THISTLE
• CHANCA PIEDRA

AND

• ARTICHOKE

I've heard of milk thistle, I was surprised by artichoke because I LOVE artichokes and I've never heard the word CHANCA PIEDRA before in my life. 

So MILK THISTLE is a herb that has been used for thousands of years and it helps with liver disease as well as liver diseases caused by toxins. 

The CHANCA PIEDRA has been used in ayurvedic medicine to help with the removal of kidney stones and it has a special protein that helps the liver with oxidative stress PLUS it stimulates bile production and may have additional benefits for the kidneys. 

So it's basically EXTREMELY important for digestive health. 

Last but not least, ARTICHOKES, apparently have extremely great benefits for digestive health which is why it is recommended to people with upset stomachs and indigestion. The liver benefits in artichokes are most likely due to a substance called cynarin which also helps increase the production of bile which speeds up the movement of food and waste. 

You're liver is the largest and heaviest internal organ and it is SO important that it functions properly because it processed anything you eat and drink, helps your body store vitamins and helps to detoxify your bod. 

So if your liver isn't functioning properly then you're probably not digesting foods very well and not absorbing your foods vitamins and minerals which leads to constipation, bloating, low energy and indigestion.

These are just a few of the things that are negatively effecting your liver on a daily basis:

• ALOCHOL
• SOFT DRINKS
• SUGAR
• PERSCRIPTION MEDS
• BEING OVERWEIGHT
• and more...

Luckily though we can help our liver by consuming the 4 ingredients that I talked about earlier!

Now, like I said, when I did my cleanse I drank GALLONS of dandelion root tea for three days. 
I made a huge batch of it and then put it in a 1/2 gallon jug and kept it in the fridge so that I could have it chilled whenever I wanted. 

BUT now I know that I can add in all these other herbs that will help. The bad news is I have no effing idea where to buy Chanca Piedra or if it even comes in the form of tea.

The good news is that I found this product which is a liquid form of advanced liver support and it contains ALL 4 ingredients that we we're talking about earlier! 

I like the idea of liquid form because we can absorb it quickly compared to pill form. 

X

If you have any other tips please feel free to leave them below!

I DID A 3 DAY JUICE CLEANSE AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED

Sometimes I have the self control of a fucking Victoria's Secret model and other times I do things in such a serious auto pilot mode that I don't even remember doing it. 

The first time I did a 3 day juice cleanse was about 3 years ago now. Over the course of a few months I went from eating turkey and chicken every day to cutting out meat, to eating plant based, to Raw and then I wanted to take it a step further and try a cleanse. 

I started with 1 day and loved it so much that I went to the store later that night and bought a separate THREE day cleanse. After day 4 I went and got 1 more day making my very first cleanse last for a total of 5 days. 

WTF. 

I think I was a robot. I loved the way I felt, I loved knowing that I was filling my body up with nutrients and I feel like I only stopped because I could barely pay rent so juicing for a day let alone almost a week wasn't really in the budget. 

Fast forward to THIS time around when I decided to dive into a 3 day cleanse and holllllyy hell the vibe is WAY different. 

I still don't eat meat but the day...or 7...before I started the juice cleanse, I wouldn't say I was eating HORRIBLY, but I definitely wasn't eating Raw. 

I was eating healthy food but I was eating more than I needed, and I had like 3 taco nights which really didn't help with the constant bloating I was experiencing. 

I was fed up and felt like I needed a RESET so I went from lots of food to nadddda but juice. 

SO

I got my juice cleanse from Pressed Juicery because their juices taste amazing and their prices are better than most. I think I paid 160 for my first 3 day cleanse and I paid 120 for this one PLUS it comes with more to drink throughout the day. 

I told the woman working that I wanted to do the ADVANCED cleanse meaning the one that has the LEAST amount of sugar and then I asked if I could swap out one of the juices for a juice that had a thicker consistency and more protein since I would be somewhat active during the cleanse. 

Basically this meant that I would have one protein drink in the morning, 4 juices throughout the day, another protein drink for dinner PLUS a chlorophyll drink throughout the day and an aloe vera drink before bed. 

The chlorophyll helps provide you with energy and fullness throughout the day and the aloe juice helps with digestion which I LOVE.

Day 1

Went SUPER well and I think it's always the best day of a cleanse. I was lit with motivation and determination and was stoked that I didn't have to try to plan out any meals for the day. I didn't feel unsatisfied at any point throughout the day at all, I actually had to force myself to finish one of the juices before bed because I forgot about it. Everything was great. THEN

Day 2

Was when I started day dreaming about sweet potato fries and a veggie burger. I was PISSED. I remember the first time I did the cleanse I felt amazing, high energy, no cravings, nada. This time I literally kept imagining myself eating a burger and wanted to munch on something sooo bad. 

This tends to be the subject of day two. Your body starts to crave things and you start to FEEL what it's like to detox.

Luckily what I can't imagine is wasting 120 dollars on a juice cleanse because I couldn't resist cravings for 10 minutes.  So I made it through day 2 and felt really good by the end of the day. I was up from 7:00 am until almost 1:00 am so I still managed to knock out a long day plus a yoga class and a 30 minute nap:)

 My stomach is flat again at this point. My digestion is on point. I'm sleeping like a baby and I'm not experiencing any headaches or tiredness. 

Day 3:

WOKE UP FEELING AMAZING. Had my smoothie drink and felt totally alert for 4 hours. Downed my second juice in a second and felt great again.

Mind you - I work at a cocktail lounge so there are food and drinks everywhere so the temptations are HIGH but every little thing that I want and decide to pass gives me a little bit more confidence in my self control. 

Then I realized that this is half the reason why I love juice cleanses. They get your mind back on track and build up your strength to say no to things because you know you are more interested in reaching your goals. 

Seriously though, how many times have you told yourself that you weren't going to have sweets for a week and by the end of day one your eating more sweets than you normally ever would have?

This happens to all of us. We start to a lose a sense of our self control and our goals. For me - spending this much money on juices makes me determined to do it right because other wise I feel like it would be a waste of money. 

It also motivates me to meal prep healthy foods for the week ahead when my cleanse is OVER so that I don't just fall back into my old habits and waste my time doing the cleanse that way. 

ALSO - you wouldn't believe the amount of shit you get done when you're cleansing. For example, if I wasn't on a cleanse then I would probably be in my bed right now eating a huge bowl of popcorn, sippin' on a grapefruit seltzer and watching GIRLS. 

Or I would be bugging my boyfriend about going out to lunch or seeing who wants to go out to dinner tomorrow. 

Since all those options are off the table, I'm staying home, getting house work done, and creating new projects. 

You kind of have to stay busy on a cleanse or else I feel like you could go nuts so all around it's a win in my book. 

DAY AFTER:

Today is my first day after the cleanse and today feels 100% times better than yesterday. i could drink juice all day today no problem if I wanted to. Yesterday I was still cravings burgers and fries and today I'm not really craving anything. 

I had a juice for breakfast and I'm being cautious of what I eat today. I don't want to just have a big meal and shock my body again and I'm definitely doing my best to stay away from anything with preservatives or added sugars. 

I had a little bit of tuna with gluten free crackers for lunch and right now I'm making ceviche so just trying to have some light, healthy snacks and still drinking 1/2 a gallon of water throughout the day.

I've noticed that my face looks a bit thinner from not having any sugar and drinking SO much water. 

That's another thing. 

When you do a cleanse, you are supposed to drink 16 oz of water in between each juice this way you don't get bloated from all the fruits and veggies you are consuming. This actually also helps you feel SUPER full at times. 

Your skin will look brighter, your bloat will go away, your digestion will be on point, you're cravings will be reduced, and you'll be loaded with the vitamins and minerals you need to get through the day with energy. 

I totally suggest starting with a one day cleanse and if you like it then move on to a 3 day cleanse. 

I ALSO suggest knowing when you are going to start the cleanse so that you can start eating less and HEALTHIER for the few days leading up to the cleanse. TRUST ME, this will make your cleansing experience a lot better!

Let me know if you have any questions!

XX

THE COCONUT CULT AKA THE PINK FLAMINGO PROBIOTIC MAGIC.

If you've already heard of Coconut Cult Probiotic yogurts then you're probably in love and if this is your first time reading about them, just prepare to fall in love. 

I first saw and tasted the yogurts when I was bouncing through Santa Barbara and I was going though my kinda of intense ULTRA HEALTH phase. All I thought about was different kinds of mushrooms, dehydrating foods, creating my own milks and getting as clean as possible.

I think this was right after I read the Moon Juice Cookbook, so that would make sense. AND if you haven't heard of moon juice, check out this blog. 

I walked into this little yoga/health food spot and grabbed some cordyceps then saw the yogurts at check out and had to ask about them (mainly because I kind of just felt like their logo needed to be a wall paper somewhere in my house).

The man working was THRILLED to tell me about them and let me taste them. First of all, they taste AMAZING but what I was more interested in was all the facts he was giving me on the actual yogurt. 

PS: this is not a paid or sponsored post, I literally just love them so much!

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"I would recommend this detox to anyone who wants to make some lifelong changes to their diet, body and health.  I say that because it is not a quick fix or a “diet” really…it’s a restart to a healthier lifestyle with better nutrition choices." - Sarah J.

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Anyways - 

As we all know, yogurts are typically great for us because of the probiotics in them, right?

Probiotics are basically living bacterias that are SUPER healthy for us, especially our gut and digestive system. They balance the good and bad bacterias that are already in our bodies and they help to keep our bodies working the way that they're supposed to be. 

A lot of people are typically advised to take a probiotic after a period of having to take antbiotics because the antibiotics kill the good bacteria in you gut and PROBIOTICS will replace them.

So since probiotics help with the gut and digestive system, sometimes it's a good idea for people with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) or diarrhea to start taking a probiotic. Probiotics have also been known to help with other problems like eczema, oral health, and urinary and vaginal health. 

You're probably wondering what the whole point of this is...

WELL...(back to the guy working at the health store haha)

He told me that the reason why this yogurt is SO amazing is because it has 

800 billion 

highly active probiotics in it. 

So I asked him "what's the difference between having my probiotics in a yogurt compared to just taking a probiotic pill?" 

He explained that many probiotic supplements actually can't survive our harsh stomach acid in order to even get to the intestines in the first place. 

Also, the coconutcult yogurt site explains that most probiotic supplements are freeze dried which means that they are hibernating. What the coconut cult does is they wake up the probiotics and ferment them into the yogurt so that they are alive and READY to go to work. 

This 800 billion situation though you guys is INSANE. They have 12.5 BILLION more probiotics PER tablespoon compared to other brands. 

THAT BLOWS MY MIND. 

And 1 serving is only 2 tablespoons so I know that if I just have one serving of the yogurt, I am BLASTING my body with living probiotics that actually work. 

Hence why I'm in love. 

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"After only three days I can tell I’m more hydrated! My digestion is already better so I should probably leave dairy forever lol. This isn’t as hard as I’d imagine especially because I’m on the go so much.  Thank you again for sharing this with me! " - Laci M.

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ALSO - probiotic pills...if they even make it down to your gut, it could take up to 6 hours for them to start working where as the probiotics in coconut cult yogurt and other fermented foods start working immediately. 

I'm sure some of you have heard that acne for example, is something that is directly related to your gut. Sometimes you can have all the creams and facials that you want but you still have bad break outs. This tends to mean that it is a hormone issue or it is an issue with something in your gut. 

So, a lot of people wit get on a probiotic PILL but if you have acne and you're not noticing any changes from taking the pill, then the reason could be those that we talked about earlier. The pill doesn't stand a chance against your stomach acid SO moving on to a LIVE, ACTIVATED, food that contains BILLIONS of probiotics that get to work instantly...might be the better option for you. 

I've heard of people's skin clearing up from eating coconut cult so if that is one of your concerns then I think it could be an EXTREMELY beneficial investment for you!!

Okay - now. When and how to eat it. 

Personally, if I'm going to do something I want to do it right and I want to give it 100% effort. SO. When it comes to getting the most out of the coconut cult yogurt, I was told by the creator of the product that IDEALLY you want to have it first thing in the morning and the last thing before going to bed. 

You want to try to make sure that you eat it on an empty stomach so that it is not reacting with other foods. Leading me to my next little tip, you want to eat it alone as opposed to eating it with a bunch of fruits and granola. 

Let the coconut yogurt just do it's thing, okay?

I personally have been having it first thing in the am. I have 3 tablespoons in a small bowl and notice that my digestive system is kick started. PS: you also want to avoid eating it straight out of the jar BECAUSE your germs will stick around in the jar from your spoon and that's just not ideal in a jar of fermented DAIRY FREE yogurt. Just sayin'.

THEN, at night  maybe 3-4 hours after dinner, I'll have 3 more tablespoons, then rest up.

So far I've only noticed that my digestion has improved BUT different people will experience different things when consuming the yogurt. 

Some people may get stomach cramps and rumbles or mayy be running to the restroom more often than others. This is all very normal but if you feel like it's more of an inconvenience, maybe try consuming smaller portions and then work your way up to a larger serving. 

Overall - I'm completely obsessed with the yogurts and the company in general. You guys can buy their yogurts here, and also keep an eye out for them in major health food stores!!

XXX

HOW TO SLEEP YOUR WAY TO BETTER HEALTH - GUEST POST

Written by: Elaine Clara Mah

Do you often work till the wee hours of the night, and then go home to find that though you’re mentally exhausted, you’re still finding it difficult to sleep? 

The importance of sleep has been frequently overlooked, with many getting less than the optimal 8 hours of quality sleep every night. This is worrying, as a lack of sleep is extremely harmful to the body. Sleep deprivation hinders the ability of the mind to relax and therefore leave it constantly in a fight or flight state, which affects the general health of the body.

Why is Sleep Important?

As a student, I thought I thrived on less sleep. I would spend many nights burning the proverbial midnight oil to finish assignments on time, surviving on a sinful amount of energy drinks. Sure, I finished my work and also did well on it. But on the health front, I was losing. I felt lethargic in the day and when that last can of energy drink finished, I crashed into bed, only to wake up feeling even more exhausted.

Getting adequate sleep each day is essential to the human body because our system needs rest, much like how our electronics need a recharge.

Chronic sleep loss can put us at risk for many health problems including heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. A lack of sleep impairs cognitive processes including alertness, concentration and reasoning – skills that we use in our day-to- day lives.

So how do we get a good night’s sleep? Here are some effective tips:

Stick to A Schedule

Create a sleep schedule for yourself. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday. Creating a consistent schedule will help regulate your body clock, which will help you fall asleep and stay asleep regularly.

Where possible, make it a habit of going to be early and then rising early to start your day. Try to get at least eight hours of adequate sleep every day; it has been linked to being productive at work.

Get A Relaxing Ritual Going

A relaxing ritual before bedtime will help you fall asleep easier and get sufficient rest. Relaxing allows the body and mind to accept sleep better; relaxation enables the production of melatonin naturally – a neurochemical essential for deep and restful sleep.

Start the relaxation ritual by dimming the lights, diffusing calming essential oils and turning off your electronic devices.

A meditation practice before sleep will also aid in relaxation by reducing stress and calming the mind. Meditation will also help you focus on the present and enable you to let go of any pains and problems that they are holding unto.

Exercise Regularly

A consistent exercise schedule is a good way to get better sleep at night as it reduces stress with the release of endorphins and tires you out.

Walking and jogging are great exercise choices, but if you’re looking for more dynamic workouts, cycling or martial arts may be suitable for you.

For a practice that creates more relaxation, give yoga nidra a try!

Lead A Healthier Lifestyle

Like it or not, the food you consume plays an equally important role in the quality of sleep that you get at the end of each day. Eating acidic and

spicy foods may cause heartburn, which will disrupt sleep. High-fat foods like burgers and fries also affect sleep cycles as they are considered heavy meals, which will result in the digestive system going into overdrive.

Try to minimize your intake of junk food as they are difficult to digest and can wreak havoc in your body, causing sleep disruptions. Instead, opt for healthier meals with more vegetables and good fats. 

About

Elaine Clara Mah

Elaine is a Contributing Writer for BookMeditationRetreats.com. She is a firm believer in meditation and sets aside at least an hour a day for silence.

MORNING MEDITATION IS MY FIRE RIGHT NOW

PHOTOGRAPHER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR: THEETERNALCHILD

I didn't think the day would ever come but I'm here, and I'm falling in love with meditating. 

I'm a busy woman, mid-twenties. THERE'S A LOT GOING ON HERE. On a day to day basis without really realizing it or even stressing about it, I'm working out, going to work, working on my passion, socializing, thinking of how to move forward, thinking of how to move to the next apartment, wondering how I can travel more, save more, have better skin and hair, and spend more time with family. 

Meditating is a moment for myself first thing in the morning, TAKING TIME FOR MYSELF, without any thoughts.

It's a time and place for me to sit and enjoy the quietness of the morning and to let my mind kind of just relax and expand.

I've read from pretty much every person I admire that they love meditation. I've read all about the benefits, the feeling you carry with you for the rest of the day when you do it, and the importance of taking that time for yourself BUT I've never been able to get into it. 

I was always thinking about what I needed to do as soon as I was done meditating. I also always just sort of felt like it was  a waste of time and that my time would be more useful spent at the gym running my ass off. 

Don't get me wrong, running is a great way to release endorphins and clear your mind but meditating is a separate practice with separate benefits. 

As some of you may know, I'm a huge fan on Cameron Diaz. 

I talked about her in this post about how I became motivated to start running again after I read her first book THE BODY BOOK. 

More recently, I read her book THE LONGEVITY BOOK and this is where she spilled all the goodness on her meditation routine and the benefits. 

Let me drop some knowledge on ya real quick. 

STRESS.

When we stress, we are basically responding to something that is happening like a late uber, or missing a flight or when it becomes more serious we are stressing over illness or relationships and financial responsibilities. 

We have these things called Telomeres attached to our cells like a little tail and whenever we stress we are shortening that tail. This eventually gets dangerously shorter and shorter until it gets to the cell and the cell dies or it goes into senescence. 

The accumulation of senescent cells is a driver of AGING AND ILLNESS.

So, we can do some things like run or go to acupuncture to reduce stress levels but the practice of meditating is shown to have the most long lasting results. 

Meditation actually has a beneficial impact at the cellular level by LENGTHENING your telomeres. 

Longer telomeres means healthier cells and less inflammation within the body. 

Then obviously, the stronger our immune system is, the better it will be able to respond to sicknesses and illnesses which will expand the length of our life. 

THAT'S JUST A SMALL tid bit that I learned from The Body Book. 

I was also more recently inspired by people like Amanda Chantal Bacon (owner and creator of Moon Juice) and McKel Hill (Creator of Nutrition Stripped. Particularly this article). 

This interview of Amanda and this blog written by McKel inspired me and made me realize that a lot of woman who I look up to are practicing meditation DAILY.

I just started thinking to myself that I can do this. 

If they can meditate, why can't I?

So the following morning after reading up on some meditation techniques, I woke up early, laid out a beautiful lace blanket on my floor in front of my window, opened it up to listen to the rain, lit 3 candles and placed them on the floor in front of me and googled KUNDALINI MEDITATION. 

This was what Amanda of Moon Juice said that she did so I figured I would start with that. 

I found a 10 minute practice, pressed play and just focused on my breath. 

Between going to work and hitting the gym and running errands, I'm around people and interacting ALL DAY. 

Once I started to realize how precious this time is for me first thing in the morning, i've been getting more and more excited to get into it. 

I'm already looking at new meditation techniques to see if there are any others that I like and I am moving on to 20 minute sessions. 

I've also been getting up earlier so that it is completely quiet and then I cap it off with 15-20 minutes of a morning yoga stretch. 

I finish up by 8:00 am and feel AMAZING. 

This is the YouTube Chanel that I've been loving so far for meditation and yoga so far. 

I also found out that UCLA offers free meditation videos online which are popular because they are conducted by professors so you actually gain some knowledge while you're in your practice and you understand why you are doing what you are doing. 

So moral of the story, I am LOVING it so far. 

Find a place in your home that you can turn into your little "spot". Like I said, mine is in my room in front of my window on my lace blanket. 

Wake up a little earlier so that you can complete the meditation and not feel like you have to be in a rush and just remind yourself that this time is YOURS and yours only.

I think that will help you relax!

Let me know if you guys have any tips for me or let me know if there are other channels that you like so I can check them out!!

LOVE YOU GUYS!

XX - C

MY DIET OVER THE LAST 2 WEEKS

So I feel like I've been keeping you guys a lot more updated with my workout schedule and results via insta and snap BUUUT although I've told you I've been strict with my diet, I haven't really broken it down yet.

First of all, these pictures were taken only 1 month apart. The one on the right was taken right when I got home from NY so I had been eating everything, drinking everything, I was dehydrated and swollen form traveling. The one on the right was taken a few days ago after 3 weeks of following this eating schedule and sticking to my workouts. 

(YIKES).

First lets quickly go over what my diet was like before because it didn't really seem that bad.

I would wake up in the morning, have a cup of bullet proof coffee and maybe a piece of whole wheat toast with 3 egg whites + sriracha. 

Then I would go to the gym, come home and have a plant based protein smoothie which usually included greens, a banana, almond milk and almond butter, flax seeds, and other super food powders. 

For lunch I might have my Curry cauliflower rice or as of lately I was having a can of tuna with vegan mayo, bread and butter pickles and whole wheat crackers. 

So far not too bad yeah?

So then I would go to work, and this is where I'm realizing the downfall was. 

I would run around for 4 hours then be starving without time to take a break so I would go sneak a piece of pretzel bread with butter like a freaking animal and stuff my face then go back to work. Cool right?

Then I would snack on the jalepeno olives, and then 9:30 pm rolls around and I would finally have time for a break. And I'm one of those people who like, LOVES dinner.

I feel like my day ins't complete until I have dinner. For some people they feel like they can't wake up until they have breakfast so, I get it. 

So I would end up eating work food on my break. Not a lot, but enough that it was messing up my diet. Not to mention the food there is all covered in grease and oil so even if I'm having small portions, it adds up over the week. 

After eating and drinking my way through Thanksgiving I had one of those moments where I decided that i was going to really ACTUALLY get my ish together. 

I think I have pretty decent self control but I clearly lost all control as soon as I went to work, WHICH HAS BEEN A LOT LATELY BECAUSE WE'RE UNDERSTAFFED AND I COULD KILL SOMEONE, but that's off topic. 

The first thing I did ...

the next day on my way to work was stop at Whole Foods and I bought a large bag of raw UNSALTED almonds. 

Who knew how much these little guys would help. I kept them in my car and I would snack on them on the way to work, then I would just bring them inside with me and have some when I felt like I needed a little something. 

I felt like I wasn't having cravings and I wasn't as hungry for food by the end of the night. According to this blog, those feelings are pretttty on point. 

Almonds are actually beneficial when it comes to losing weight, despite their higher calorie content. One study even found that almonds consumed as snacks reduce hunger and desire to eat later in the day, and when dieters eat almonds daily they reduce their overall calorie intake. 

The second thing

I made sure to do was really re focus on my water intake. You will be SO surprised how you're cravings diminish and you eat smaller meals when you're drinking enough water. 

Third...

VERY MINIMAL DRINKING. Ugh I know, trust me, I'm the first to crave a glass of red wine or a whisky sour when it's cold outside or just a beer at lunch...soothes my soul. Haha, BUT I told myself only 2 drinks max one day a week.

I started shrinking FAST. All my clothes started feeling like they were fitting the way they were supposed to, I've been more in control of my eating (no drunchies) and I've stayed more hydrated. 

Alrighty, so those were the main changes I made, the main NEW RULES if you will. 

Now here's what my diet's been looking like throughout the day.

8:00 am - Wake up, have a small almond or peanut butter Perfect Bar.

I do this because I always hit the gym in the morning and before I do that I have my 3 favorite products from MRM - L Carnitine, Pre Workout, and BCAA's. These three things combined help with optimal fat burn, weight loss, and muscle retention BUT if you have them on an empty stomach, you're going to hate yourself.

Also when I take my pre workout and L Carnitine I have it in 1 glass of water so I'm also hydrating as soon as I wake up.

10:00 am - Post Gym Plant Protein Smoothie

Lately I've been keeping it really simple and doing this:

- 1 1/2 cups almond milk

- 1 large table spoon of flax seed peanut butter from Trader Joe's

- 1 Scoop Vanilla Plant Based Protein from MRM ( Remember, you can always go to their site and use my code CHELSEY at check out to get 40% off any product!)

- 1 TSP Cinnamon

- 3 Ice Cubes

- 1 Scoop Collagen Vital Protein (to help with hair, skin and nails!)

Or if I have berries, I loveeeeee this berry smoothie. 

1:00 pm - For lunch lately I've been having an organic soup (Annie's Soup) with a piece of whole wheat toast OR the Kale and Edamame salad from Trader Joe's because it's big, amazing and cheap, OR a juice with almonds and or a perfect bar. So I keep it fairly light, never letting myself get to the point that I feel SUPER full.

4:30 pm - On the way to work I munch on almonds pretty much the whole way and take either a juice with me or a chilled green tea. I like to do a caffeinated green tea with a peppermint tea for energy and a better taste. 

7:00 pm - Lately I've been brining my spaghetti squash bake with me to work and having that for dinner! I'm so obsessed with it and it's just a bunch of veggies so I never get too full from eating it but I'm definitely satisfied. I also like it because it can be served hot or cold. 

10:00 pm - I've been going for a hot tea around this time made of chamomile, fresh ginger juice, lemon juice, and honey. It's soooo good, it relaxes me, warms me up and makes me feel like I'm having a little treat before calling it a night. 

Notice how I end up eating something light about every 3 hours. That helps speed up your metabolism because you're body knows that it's going to be getting food so it feels like it's safe enough to quickly digest your food and dispose of it.

This is why when we don't eat for a long time and then have a meal, our body hangs on to as much of it as possible which promotes WEIGHT GAIN.

Get it? 

So I hope that helps clarify what I've been doing! Ask any questions below!

GOJI BERRIES: YOUR COLLAGEN BOOSTING, ENERGIZING, "CHINESE MEDICINE VIAGRA".

So if you read my posts on acupuncture and cupping, you know that I'm sort of obsessed with Chinese medicine...NOT TO MENTION, there was also that time I raved about the China Study Book that basically changed my diet for good. 

I feel like they just get it you know? So I went to this Chinese Herbal Tea Store in Beverly Hills a few weeks ago and learned all about the power of ginseng for energy and ALSO how they're obsessed with the benefits of goji berries.

(They taught me a lot more but I couldn't repeat the names back to you if you paid me so it was kind of useless.)

So obviously goji berries rang a bell. 

YOU GUYS.

I looked up the benefits and these things are like effing magic. First of all I've had them in smoothie bowls, on yogurt and I've eaten them plain and they're so bomb. I feel like they're so under appreciated. 

1.

So first of all it's obviously a fruit BUT they contain 8 ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS, which are like the building blocks of protein. And ESSENTIAL meaning that we would die if our bodies didn't have them. #YESLAWD

2.

ALSO, a small 4 ounce serving provides us with 10% of our daily protein needs & considering that's coming from an all natural FRUIT, is seriously amazing.

3.

Third thing. Always remember that we DON'T want to consume simple carbs, and that we ALWAYS want to consume COMPLEX CARBS. 

Simple carbs are carbs that have been stripped of all of their nutrients, which usually makes them white because they've lost their color. Think white bread, white rice, white potatoes, white sugar etc. COMPLEX carbs are the carbs that are healthy for us that we can use as fuel because they slowly give us energy.

When we eat SIMPLE carbs on the other hand, they all turn into sugar as soon as we digest it which gives us a huge rush of energy like a sugary energy drink, and then makes us crash. (This is why you feel like you could sleep for 9 days after eating a huge plate of pizza or a massive bowl of pasta).

SO. Moral of the story is...the sugar in goji berries is actually a complex carb AND they are high in fiber! Which makes them the perfect snack while you're out running 5 million errands or at work. Fiber filled fruits are also why I'm obsessed with pears.

4. 

This might be my favorite little fact about these things. 

This is AMAZE because vitamin A decreases our signs of agin because it INCREASES our collagen production and reduces acne, AND helps keep our hair healthy AF. 

5. 

So, back to the whole Chinese viagra comment...YEAH..

Goji berries are used in Chinese medicine to help increase energy and enhance the release of hormones. This allows them to actually help us handle stress + they support a healthy mood, mind, and memory. 

Great. On to the good stuff. 

They ALSO increase blood flow, including to our sex organs which is why they call the Goji berry "The Viagra of China". HAHA. I feel like this berry is accomplishing more than I do in a week.

Just remember that you get what you pay for. They might run a little more on the expensive side (for obvious reasons) and if you find cheaper ones, it's likely that they are packed with sulfates, and we don't want that. 

So grab some, sprinkle them all over your life, in your bed, whatever, and let me know how it goes! 

THE SMOKING TREND IS OUT

I feel like people used to be attracted to cigarettes as quickly as they were attracted to a dope bomber jacket. It just became a statement piece, weird right? Like this outfit would be perfect if onlyyyy I had a cigarette. 

Over the last couple of years I feel like the trend has definitely died down, like a lot. I remember when I used to go visit my grandparents and their house would just REEK of smoke. I swear, now when anyone even walks through a house with a cigarette in their hand I can sense it.

Our older generations we're definitely in the cigarette scene but like I said, times have changed... I mean the box even states SMOKING KILLS on it now. YIKES.

I personally CANNOT STAND the smell. I've just never been into it. When someone smokes I can smell it on the breath, in their hair, on their clothes, in their car, on their hands...EVERYWHERE.

What's interesting though is that smokers actually begin to lose their sense of smell and taste so they really don't understand how overwhelming it can be.

Not only that but smoking drys out your skin which eventually starts to make it look grey because there is a lack of oxygen supply in the body. 

They also cause MAAAAJJOR wrinkles, causing you to look much older than you really are and they turn your teeth and your fingers yellow :(

Smoking is one of the biggest forms of preventable death. By smoking you increase the risk of cancer in your mouth, esophagus, liver, kidneys and you have an increased risk of cervix cancer.

What really bothers me about cigarettes is that when I look at it, I have NO EFFING IDEA what's in it. I do know though that it is packed with carbon monoxide, you know, that thing you have an alarm for in your home? Because if you inhale to much you can die in about 3 minutes.

Carbon monoxide basically high jacks your oxygen and completely robs you of your red blood cells. As soon as carbon monoxide grabs ahold of these cells, you can NEVER get them back or repair them, no matter what you do. 

On the up side though, red blood cells only last about 4 months so IT IS POSSIBLE to stop the habit in it's tracks, and create a new you!

Smoking is a serious issue that a lot of people are hooked on. I totally understand that it would be hard to quit, especially if you have been doing it for most of your life. for most people it is a serious way of relaxing, relieving stress, and having something to do for 5 minutes.

A lot of people like to smoke on their break, or in their car, and unfortunately, a lot of girls have turned to smoking to resist the urge to eat since smoking reduces your appetite.

This is what I call "a quick fix", and I'm not for those.

I don't think you should pick up a new bad habit for a short term result because that bad habit will have even longer lasting BAD consequences than good ones. 

if you're feeling like you have a problem snacking too much or feel like you just want to lose a little weight, drink 24oz of water in the morning and eat 3 pears + 2 oranges and tell me you're not full. 

Eating things with fiber and drinking plenty of water will reduce cravings, curb your appetite and promote weight loss + give you ENERGY while making you feel full. See? Not that hard, and your not trashing your body and your beautiful hair and skin with toxins.

If you don't smoke right now, PLEASE don't start, you will just start chipping away years on your life. If you do smoke now, try something new everyday to quit. 

Smoke less for the first few days, then tell yourself that you're done. Get nicotine packets or start exercising to help keep it off of your mind. This will start adding years to your life!

You can do it!

xoxo

Chels