The Workout Plateau. Everyone’s Enemy.

Every person who’s serious about their health and well being has faced the plateau problem. You’re doing everything right. Watching what you eat. Regularly exercising, but those last few pounds? 

The closer you are to your ideal weight, the more you have to shake things up to get your body to start working hard again. The workout plateau can disillusion some, but there’s no need. You can push yourself past this roadblock by observing yourself. 

Are you hydrating enough?

You’re actively exercising. Taking your daily raw coconut vinegar detox drink. Having your avocado smoothies, but are you drinking enough water? We’re burning calories like crazy, and losing toxins as we sweat, but we’re also losing our bodies H2O. Water is the number one detoxifier of our bodies.

If we don’t hydrate well, our bodies will hold on to what little water we have. This causes bloat and water weight gains. Since we can only see our bodies from the outside, you don’t know which it is. 

Are you cutting out water by having coconut water after a workout? Do you regularly have a kombucha as you’re exploring the neighborhood. You are hydrating. Doing lots of things for your body, but sometimes we need to strip away the multi tasking beverages for the most simple of things our body needs.

Are you eating large meals?

Yes, you are eating healthy meals. Full of color and greens, but is this salad bowl bigger than your head? Having big meals less often, makes your body hold on to calories you've eaten.  It thinks you're in starvation mode. Nutrionist suggest having more small meals through out the day, instead of fewer, larger ones.  Alicia Reich had lost 78 pounds over the last year and a half but couldn't budge the scale past 150. She consulted with weight-loss expert Madelyn Fernstrom,

“I couldn't understand why my 1,200-calories-a-day diet wasn't working. She said my body would resume losing weight when it sensed it wasn't in starvation mode. Madelyn had me eat snacks throughout the day, like sliced turkey rolls and fruit, to stoke my metabolism. Oddly, when I ate 1,700 calories daily, the pounds started to come off.”

How we eat, can help us reach those last extra pounds we think are impossible.

Are you sitting for most of the day?

Most of us sit and type on keyboard all day. From there we go sit in our cars in traffic. When you think about, the only time you’re really moving is when you’re working out. Unfortunately this could be another reason for not being able to get rid of the last couple of pounds.

According to a University of Missouri-Columbia study, sitting for a few hours causes your body to stop making a fat-inhibiting enzyme called lipase. Get the upper hand in this situation by getting up and walking for two minutes every hour. I realized I was guilty myself as I was writing this post. We get so caught up in what we’re doing, we lose track of time. Do yourself a favor. Set an alarm. Get a fitbit. Do whatever helps you literally step away for two minutes every hour. So simple, but without making the conscience effort, it’ll never get done.

Are you doing enough cardio?

A lot of people I talk to hate cardio. I probably should have put it in a cap locks for them. Cardio simply is the fastest way to burn calories. Rethink your opinion. You don’t have to make your life more complicated. What if instead of walking the dog, you ran with dog. You don’t have pay for additional classes or spend more time driving somewhere. Make cardio something enjoyable. 

Living in southern California, there are several trails for cyclists. Explore the L.A. River! Take a cruise along the coast either on two wheels or two legs.

I was in the camp “no cardio.” I already work out. Adding a 15-20 minute jog with my furry kid hit those difficult areas, I thought would always be a part of my life. I can’t wait to see what happens with a little more time.

Avocados: Your Favorite Fruit Smoothie Ingredient

When I think of avocados, chips and guac pops into my head. Finding them as an ingredient on the smoothie menu? Not so much. But there it was, ‘Avocado, hemp, and honey.’ Quite the ingredient list, simple, but yet so much nutrition happening. 

I did hesitate. I must share, I hate thick smoothies. Your face feels like it’s going to fall off from sucking on the straw so much. When I read avocado, I pictured guacamole in a cup. Being a Leo though, curiosity always wins. I know avocados are full of healthy fats and hemp is rich in omegas. “What have I got to lose?”

At first sip, I fell in love with my avocado, hemp, honey smoothie. It was smooth, light, and surprisingly, it ended up being my morning breakfast. I loved discovering with a couple of whirls the nutrient dense avocado is smoothie magic. I’ll always love chips and guacamole, but if you’re looking for avocado’s health benefits, it’s all about a smoothie.

What makes the avocado super fruit so good for you? It gives you close to 20 vitamins and minerals, including potassium (which helps control blood pressure), lutein (which is good for your eyes), and folate (which is crucial for cell repair and during pregnancy).

Interestingly, avocados have more potassium than bananas. I thought bananas were the potassium holy grail, but nope. Avocados are the better post workout recovery snack. Slice a halve before you head into the studio, and replenish afterwards like none other.

You’re getting vitamin B, which is great for fighting off disease and infection. It also gives you vitamins C and E, plus natural plant chemicals that may help prevent cancer. Avocados must be in the same league as coconuts. What can this super fruit not do? 

Here’s a little more avocado dazzle for you. It’s low in sugar, and high in fiber as well. It’s why avocados are a great way to start the day. Flip the script when you eat avocados. After a lifetime of guacamole and chips, rethink how you eat this fruit. Avocados smoothies give you the right serving size, instead those large scoops with salty chips.. 

Have I inspired you to get a little funky with your breakfast? Why not? Avocado’s a fruit. Add it to your rotation. Mix it up a little. Add avocado into your smoothie recipes, and you’ll physically notice the difference. Your skin and hair say hello after making it a regular part of your life.

Monounsaturated fats in avocado are the magic behind making your skin glow. It does this by maintaining moisture levels in the epidermal layer of your skin. In addition, the Omega-9 fats in avocados help reduce skin redness and irritation. Avocados can actually help repair damaged skin cells.

Additional beauty benefits also include protecting your skin from wrinkles with its antioxidant properties, carotenoids. Vitamin E helps guard against photo-aging from sun exposure. Last but not least, vitamin C in avocado creates elastin and collagen for maintaining your skin’s elasticity and firmness.

Check out these smoothie recipes to help change your regular guacamole fiesta into a low cal, low fat party instead. Create your own. It’s the best part of making smoothies a regular part of your life. Always new healthy creations to invent.

Avocado Kale Superfood Smoothie

• 1 frozen banana, chopped in small chunks
• 1/2 cup blueberry yogurt
• 1 cup kale (or spinach) leaves, chopped
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

Apple, Pear, Avocado and Spinach Detox Smoothie

• 2 red apples (they’re sweeter than green)
• 1 pear
• 1 small avocado
• a large handful of fresh spinach leaves

Blueberry Hemp Smoothie Recipe

• 1 cup hemp milk (substitute almond or coconut milk or water)
• 1/3 avocado
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 2 tablespoons shelled hemp seeds or hemp protein powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 tablespoon honey to sweeten

Raw Coconut Vinegar is taking over ACV’s territory.

I remember when I learned about the Native Americans’ hunting practice of everything serving a purpose. Nothing went to waste. I was in awe of their ingenuity. I recently had the same spark when I discovered raw coconut vinegar. Haven’t we done everything we can with coconuts?

You’ve tried coconut water, coconut oil, but have you tried coconut vinegar? Try replacing your apple cider vinegar shots with fresh coconut sap vinegar and you’ll be getting more vitamins, minerals, and amino acids than you ever would with ACV. According to the USDA Nutrient Database, apple cider vinegar has no measurable vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, or vitamin E. 

Coconut vinegar also leaves ACV in the dust with it’s 17 amino acids. In comparison, apple cider vinegar barely registers on the scale with it’s low count. Amino acids supply nutrients to nourish the skin, hair and nails from within the body. They also work to strengthen connective tissue which keeps our skin smooth and elastic, the nails firm and the hair strong. 

Coconut vinegar gets it’s amazing powers from coconut trees growing in rich volcanic soil. This environment contributes to the liquid’s high mineral content, low glycemic index, and nearly neutral pH balance to help alkaline our bodies. It also contains Fructooligosaccharides or FOS for short. FOS cannot be digested or absorbed by the human body, and must pass through the digestive tract to the large intestine where they act as a food source for probiotics. 

Our bodies need probiotics to keep everything moving in our digestive tract, and raw coconut vinegar is an excellent prebiotic to start this process with one tablespoon. Like I said, I thought we had discovered everything there was about the coconut, but learning about raw coconut vinegar made me realize we really should be more like the early frontiers people and use every little piece of nutritious food supply.

Coconut vinegar is made from the sap of the coconut tree (called Tuba). Tuba is collected from the stem that "feeds" the coconuts. A "Tuba Collector" climbs to the top of the coconut tree and clips the stem that contains flowers and baby coconuts. Then a collection vessel is hung from the tree and the stem placed so the sap will run into it. Every day a collector travels to collect the sap from each tree.

Once collected, the sap (or tuba) is allowed to ferment into a natural coconut vinegar. Unfiltered and unheated, the color of the vinegar changes as it ages, from cloudy white to light yellow to a clear light brown as it further matures. As the vinegar ages, sediments will appear at the bottom. This is called "mother vinegar,” as we’re familiar with ACV.

If you want to try coconut vinegar for yourself, make sure you’re buying a product which comes from sap vs. coconut water. The sap is what contains all these health benefits we’ve been discussing. Sap vinegar is naturally aged for 8 months to one year, with no additives, enhancing it’s nutrient-rich properties.

On the other hand, coconut water-based vinegar undergoes an “assisted” fermentation process. This happens by adding a fermentation starter, either apple cider vinegar, or muscavado cane sugar to catalyze fermentation. Because of this, water-based vinegar is not capable of forming a “mother” culture, resulting in a less nutritious end product. You could save a couple of dollars buying the lesser product, but you’d be better off using it for salad dressing. If you want to receive the health benefits, definitely splurge for this tasty detox remedy. 

If you’re currently using ACV for your daily cleanse, you’ll love the taste of coconut vinegar. It has a much sweeter taste in my opinion. A contributing factor to this opinion could be the fact you only have to use one tablespoon of coconut vinegar, in comparison to the two tablespoons of ACV for a single serving. One tablespoon, two tablespoons, what’s the difference? When you’re drinking raw vinegar, it definitely makes a difference on your tastebuds.

I’ve swapped out my ACV with raw coconut vinegar, and I can say after a week of doing this, I’m extremely happy with the results. I’ve been drinking ACV every morning for the last eight months, and have noticed I have more energy. My sinuses are getting rid of all the toxins. I’d also agree with other users who report eating less. Coconut vinegar contains acetic acid, an organic compound studies show suppresses appetite. It must the pH balance I tell ya. Whatever it is, raw organic coconut vinegar should be your new best friend.

Watermelon: The Nutrient Dense Summer Time Treat

Happy National Watermelon Day, a celebration you should be having regularly. Watermelon is chock full of healthy goodness for you. It’s a nutrient dense food, which provides a high amount of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants for a low amount of calories.

With it’s great taste you’d think it’d be in high in sugar content, but in one cup of diced watermelon (152 grams) you’re consuming only 43 calories with zero grams of fat. This is probably due to the fact watermelon is made up of 92% water. This naturally low cal, fat free snack also gives you 17% of vitamin A, 21% of vitamin C, 2% of iron and 1% of your calcium needs for the day. Watermelon power indeed.

If you’re not really a veggie eater, watermelon is a great way to get more greens into your life, since this power produce is both a fruit and a vegetable. Yes, watermelon rind is completely edible with health-promoting and blood-building chlorophyll. By eating the rind, you are actually eating more of the amino acid, L-citrulline, than you would find in the pink flesh.

This is important to note because L-citrulline is related to L-arginine. Once inside the body, L-citrulline is converted into L-arginine. L-arginine increases nitric oxide levels in the blood. Higher nitric oxide levels means your body is relaxing and dilating blood vessels. This increases blood circulation to various organs, including the heart, skin and sexual organs. Drop the rind into a blender with a little lime, and give your cardio vascular system some major love.

Other major benefits of a watermelon treat? 

Asthma prevention: The risks for developing asthma are lower in people who consume a high amount of certain nutrients. One of these nutrients is vitamin C, found in many fruits and vegetables including watermelon.

Blood pressure: A study published by the American Journal of Hypertension found that watermelon extract supplementation reduced ankle blood pressure, brachial blood pressure and carotid wave reflection in obese middle-aged adults with prehypertension or stage 1 hypertension and that watermelon extract improved arterial function.

Diets rich in lycopene may help protect against heart disease.

Cancer: As an excellent source of the strong antioxidant vitamin C as well as other antioxidants, watermelon can help combat the formation of free radicals known to cause cancer. Lycopene intake has been linked with a decreased risk of prostate cancer prevention in several studies.

Digestion and regularity: Watermelon, because of its water and fiber content, helps to prevent constipation and promote regularity for a healthy digestive tract.

Hydration: Made up of 92% water and full of important electrolytes, watermelon is a great snack to have on hand during the hot summer months to prevent dehydration.

Inflammation: Choline is a very important and versatile nutrient in watermelon that aids our bodies in sleep, muscle movement, learning and memory. Choline also helps to maintain the structure of cellular membranes, aids in the transmission of nerve impulses, assists in the absorption of fat and reduces chronic inflammation.

Muscle soreness: Watermelon and watermelon juice have been shown to reduce muscle soreness and improve recovery time following exercise in athletes. Researchers believe this is likely do to the amino acid L-citrulline contained in watermelon.

Skin: Watermelon is also great for your skin because it contains vitamin A, a nutrient required for sebum production that keeps hair moisturized. Vitamin A is also necessary for the growth of all bodily tissues, including skin and hair.

Adequate intake of vitamin C (one cup of watermelon provides 21% of daily needs) is also needed for the building and maintenance of collagen, which provides structure to skin and hair. Watermelon also contributes to overall hydration, which is vital for having healthy looking skin and hair.

The one problem I run into when I bring a watermelon home, “What to do with all this watermelon?” Chopping it up and having some cold, refreshing treats waiting for you in the fridge is the easiest. And when one can only eat watermelon slices for so long, add a little variety to this good for you produce. Throw the slices into the blender, rind and all to really maximize the health benefits. 

You could also make some interesting food combinations like watermelon kabobs with tomato, feta, mint and lime. Or you could make a summer shrimp salad. There is nothing quite like the taste of watermelon, avocado, and protein rich shrimp on a hot summer day. Maybe National Watermelon Day will become a regular celebration in your life. Now if we could also do that with birthdays as well.