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Juice Feasting 101

Sometimes it’s nice to give your body a little break…a break from food. I’m not talking fasting. I’m talking feasting: juice feasting.

Juice feasting, done mindfully, can be incredibly cleansing in mind and body. Feast on only the finest fresh, organic fruits and veggies to increase your supply of greens and their healing properties. By consuming fresh pressed juices you really boost your intake of nutrients, especially alkalizing minerals. Also, the lack of fiber in the juice slows your metabolism, allowing your body to use its energy to cleanse rather than digest.

How long you juice feast is up to you. A standard, manageable time-frame is usually about 4-6 days. Sure, you’ll be hungry. Yes, you’ll experience cravings. However, this shouldn’t be too painful or overwhelming if you are consuming enough juice. Also, it’s wise to start tapering off your caloric intake a few days prior to the feast so that the shock to your system isn’t too intense.

If you take on a juice feast to lose weight, you might be disappointed. You will shed some pounds, but it will mostly be water weight. Once you take on your regular diet, the pounds will surely return. So, weight loss isn’t necessarily a sustained result of a juice feasting protocol. Juicing could, however, be approached as a starting block or catalyst to a weight loss program.

Admittedly, there’s a lot of debate on juice fasting/feasting/cleansing. Some people swear by it. Some people deem it insane. It’s a popular, relentlessly discussed topic.

That being said, it’s important to do your own research and realize that what works for one juice feaster won’t necessarily work for you. Everyone is different. Your body may respond very differently to a juice feast than another body. So, keep that in mind. Proceed with caution. Don’t be an extremist. Don’t have too high of expectations. Just see how it goes.

What’s more, it’s very important to back off on physical exertion during a feast. Your Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym workouts should be less intense. Light exercise, such as walking or a Greenville gym yoga class, is ideal during juice feasting periods.

 

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Two Reasons to Rotate Your Greens

Lean, mean Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym machines eat lots of leafy greens. And while you can never have too many greens, you can have too much of one green. Heavy, repeated consumption of a specific green can have unintended, negative effects. Plus, it is nutritionally limiting.

So, why should you rotate your greens?

  1. Nutritional Diversity. Rotate your greens to expand your consumption and absorption of health-supporting vitamins and minerals. Balance out your diet by selecting a variety of leafy goodness.
  2. Prevent Heavy Intake of Toxins. This is the biggest reason leafy green rotation is important. All leafy greens contain trace amounts of certain toxins because plants have an internal defense mechanism designed to prevent predation. These trace amounts of toxins can pile up in your own system if you consume lots and lots of a particular green. These toxins become especially damaging if you are already susceptible to certain medical conditions. For example, kale and brassicas contain goitrogens, which have the potential to interfere with or exacerbate thyroid conditions and thyroid functioning in susceptible individuals. Spinach contains high amounts of oxalic acid, which can also present problems.

The solution? Do not eat heavy amounts of the same green every day. Heavy equates to two or more cups of a particular green. Switch it up. Make sure, however, that the greens you are rotating are in different plant families.

The same phenomenon happens, though less often, with fruit. Certain fruits also contain trace amounts of toxins that, if consumed heavily, may present problems. The main reason to rotate your fruits, however, is to establish a balanced diet. The more you spice it up, the greater range of nutrients – vitamins and minerals – you receive.

A balanced, diverse diet supports your health so you can better meet your fitness goals at Pivotal Fitness Greenville athletic club.

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A Helpful Resource: Get Drunk Not Fat

Okay, I am in no way condoning excess drinking or drinking to the point of drunkenness. In fact, I strongly believe that the best policy is to avoid drinking your calories altogether and just stick to water. However, especially during the heat of summer, I realize the temptation of a salacious mojito or a cooling alcoholic beverage. While water is definitely the best policy, I’m also a proponent of moderation in all things.

The thing is, I think people get carried away and forget the high caloric and carbohydrate density of alcoholic beverages. Inhibitions go out the door alongside the moderation in all things policy. No good. This excessive consumption has consequences on the physique more so than most people realize.

That’s why if you are going to drink, I believe you should do so mindfully and you should know exactly what you’re putting in your body and its impact. Most alcoholic options don’t have that handy dandy side label that spells out all the goodness (or junk) inside. This is where this resource comes into play: Get Drunk Not Fat.

“The Get Drunk Not Fat database displays beer calories, wine and alcohol calories and carbs sorted by their calorie to alcohol ratio.
Maximize your buzz by choosing drinks with the highest amount of calories from alcohol, not from fillers!”

Maximize not only your buzz, but also your bod. I know you’re doing hard work at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym, so it would be a bummer to blow it on booze. Fortunately, there are “healthier” booze beverages out there to choose from – options that won’t totally obliterate all the sweat and effort you have put in during your hours spent at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville athletic center.

With this source, you can use a compressive drinking calculator to see the breakdown of data.

Here’s my test run. I want to drink a 12 oz. (standard sized) mojito. I’m female. I’m 125 lbs. I plan to drink 1 mojito during a one-hour period of time. What will be the damage done?

“After having 1 Mojito drink(s) in 1 hours, your Blood Alcohol Level is 0.027

Level of Drunkenness: Lightheaded: Relaxation, sense of warmth, minor impairment of judgment

You have consumed 212 calories.”

Well, now I know. Knowledge is power. Just imagine if I drank 3! That’s 636 calories – more than a quarter of my suggested daily caloric intake. That’s a lot of calories, with virtually no self-supporting nutritional qualities. Good to know.

Be aware. Drink mindfully. Support your wellness.

 

 

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5 Foods to Incorporate into Your Summer Diet

It’s important to seek foods that are seasonally appropriate. In the summer, this means choosing foods that are heat pacifying. At times we do this naturally. For example, no one in his or her right mind wants a hot, spicy bowl of chili in the dead heat of summer. Instead, one is more likely to go lusting after a bowl of ice cream.

In general, go for foods that are cooling and hydrating in the summer. Moderate your intake of caffeine and alcohol – both incredibly dehydrating. Also, reduce your consumption of hot, spicy, fermented, salty, oily, and fried foods. These foods are no good for digestion in the sweltering, sweaty summer months. Lastly, drink loads of water.

For some eating inspiration, here are a list of foods you should definitely incorporate into your diet to support your summer wellness:

  1. Coconut water. It is hydrating, refreshing, and it provides more electrolytes per serving that a banana! This is definitely an awesome recovery option post-workout at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym.
  2. Hydrating fruits. Select juicy fruits, including peaches, watermelon, cantaloupe, citrus fruits, kiwi, strawberries, pineapples, and cherries.
  3. Fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. Grapefruit juice is incredibly nutrient dense, containing loads of vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, vitamin E, B vitamins, vitamin K, phosphorus, calcium, and phytonutrients. These nutrients support the body’s immune system so it can ward off illnesses faster and more effectively. This way, you will stay healthy and strong for your Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym workouts.
  4. Fresh squeezed green drinks. Juicing is an effective way to get in a full serving of greens. Plus, juices are incredibly easy to digest and detoxifying. There’s no need to go crazy and pursue an extreme juice detox. Simply test out one creative juice concoction per week (or day if you want to be more intense about it). My favorite is the ABC drink consisting of apples, beets, and celery. There are many delicious green drink recipes out there so do your research.
  5. Mint. Cooling and refreshing, mint is perfect to include in your summer diet. Plus, it cleanses the palate, promotes digestion, and soothes an achy, upset stomach.

There you have it. Some seasonally appropriate foods to stay cool, calm, and collected this summer.

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The 30/30 Rule

According to health and fitness guru, Tim Ferriss, one of the most effective ways you can promote weight loss is via the consumption of a protein-rich breakfast. Within 30 minutes of rising, it is highly advised that you consume at least 30g of protein (such as 3 eggs or a protein shake). This amount of protein has been proven to boost the metabolism and ward off potential cravings during the day. This breakfast, as opposed to a high-fat or high-carb breakfast, has proven way more successful in promoting fat loss and keeping the fat off.

It’s so simple. Just rise and within 30 minutes consume a breakfast fortified with 30g of protein. Hence, 30/30. Then, go work it at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym.

If you don’t have the time to prepare a complicated protein-rich breakfast, bring out the blender. Here’s a simple protein shake recipe of sustenance (inspired by Tim Ferriss) to support your activities throughout the day at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym.

  • 24 oz (3 cups) 2% or whole organic milk. Note: Use almond or soy milk if dairy free.
  • 30 g whey protein isolate (chocolate tends to work best). Note: Use rice protein if you’re lactose intolerant.
  • 1 banana
  • 3 heaping tbsp almond butter with no added sugar, maltodextrin, or syrups (preferably organic).
  • 5 ice cubes

Caloric and protein profile with 2% milk (approximate): 970 cal, 75 g protein.

Protein shakes are an acceptable meal replacement, especially for breakfast. Don’t, however, make a habit of replacing a lot of your meals with protein shakes, as you will miss out on the benefits of whole foods. Also, remember that protein has dehydrating properties. So, be sure to drink plenty of water when you are playing with protein shakes. Lastly, be careful with these protein dense shakes. If you aren’t a bodybuilder or elite athlete, you could very well overdo it, exceeding the amount of daily protein you actually need and thus, the amount of calories you actually need, resulting in unintentional weight gain.

Remember: All things in moderation. If you want my advice, just stick to these protein dynamos as occasional breakfast alternatives.

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Internal Spring Cleaning Initiatives

Maybe you’ve already done your spring cleaning and de-cluttering. You’ve cleaned out the office, the house, the home gym, the garage, and the car clutter. All of your external clutter is cleared and complete. Good for you! That’s progress. But what about any internal clutter? Mind and body clutter? Have you released all of that garbage?

Spring is an opportunity to cleanse in mind and body. As the weather warms, it presents us with an opportunity to sweat, releasing toxins and all that junk that we are perhaps clinging to. Along with warmer weather, comes new foods to explore. As we shift into this season, it’s time to say goodbye to all the heavy, rich foods of winter and embrace the lighter, fresh foods of spring. Now is the time to consciously choose foods that are fresh, vibrant, and renewing.

To support your health and fitness and your workouts at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym, take the commencement of this spring season as an opportunity to do some internal cleansing, starting with the creation and preparation of a seasonal, paleo-fied dish.

Last night I was super inspired to whip together a light dish that resonated spring. While I desired lightness, I also wanted a dish substantial enough to support my level of activity. If you do a lot of heavy lifting combined with a fair amount of cardio at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym, you definitely understand the importance of a high protein/healthy fat diet, combined with an adequate, healthy carb supply. This meal was definitely balanced and full of nutrients, yet renewing and fresh.

Gambas Al Ajillo {Garlic Shrimp}

This is a classic tapas dish. It was super easy to prepare and incredibly infused with flavor. Find the recipe at my favorite Paleo recipe resource: www.thefoodee.com. Note: I opted for coconut oil.

Avocado Tomato Cilantro Trio

Ingredients:

  • 1 sliced avocado
  • 2 medium sized tomatoes (cubed)
  • 2 tbsp. cilantro
  • 1 tbsp. red wine balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • salt to taste
  • ½ cup cooked corn
  • 1 juice of lime

Directions: Put all ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir around for a delicious side salad to pair with the garlic shrimp.

Check out the brilliant, spring colors on this dish:

Spring Avocado Salad

Red wine goes just brilliantly with this meal. Opt for a Pinot Noir or Merlot, as those are the wines with the lowest amount of sugar content.

This renewing, seasonally in-tune meal will put some spring in your step.

Get on board with the season to support your health and Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym goals.

 

 

 

 

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5 Spring Training Tips

The season of spring has finally surfaced! Hurray! To celebrate the sunshine and warmness, here are some workout tips to spring into action at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville athletic club.

  1. Get Heated
    Rev up your heart rate with a dose of intense cardio. Fire up your metabolism.
  2. Explore New Movement
    Don’t continue to repeat the same movements over and over again. Invite some newness into your routine. Static movement is a great way to switch things up. Practice static holds in plank, low plank, low lunge, or wall squat. Feel the burn.
  3. Spice/Switch Things Up
    The winter months can create a lot of mental, emotional and physical stagnation. To snap out of that winter lethargy and boredom, reinvent your workout method. If you’re always on the bike, get off the bike and hit up the treadmill. If you are always concentrating on strength and overlooking cardio, look for new ways to get your heart rate elevated. If you have been overlooking stretching and flexibility, get yourself to a yoga class at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym. If you are constantly involved in strength training, explore fresh variations on squatting, lifting, and lunges. Spice things up! Get out of your comfort zone!
  4. Fuel and Hydrate
    Stock up on lots of greens and drink loads of water to improve your body’s alkalinity and cell vitality. Drinking half of your body weight per day is highly recommended.
  5. Detox
    Spring – a season of new beginnings and renewal – is a wonderful opportunity to detox. One sure way to rid yourself of toxins is to sweat. Take a crazy sweaty yoga class at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym to release any bodily toxins that you are holding onto. Another way to detox is via diet. As the days get warmer, it’s important to eat more cooling, light foods. Introduce more salads and fresh fruits and veggies into your diet. Take a break on all the heavy, comfort foods of winter. Favor refreshing, enlivening foods.

Happy spring, Greenville gym enthusiasts!

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A Paleo Resource Worth Exploring

If you stick to a Paleo, low carb, or slow carb diet, you are going to dig this online resource. If you don’t, this might be your inspiration to start some Paleo exploration.

I recently discovered The Foodee Project – an online collaboration of Paleo friendly recipes from various Paleo friendly bloggers. So far, I have found this comprehensive recipe site incredibly awesome. As a Paleo/slow carb enthusiast, I am always jazzed to discover collaborative efforts and communities preaching the Paleo way.

But that’s not the only reason this website is so cool.

With a free subscription, The Foodee Project has the ability to put together your weekly grocery list organized by isle and customized by serving size. How convenient is that? Instead of aimlessly walking around the grocery store and wasting precious minutes you could be spending at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym, you now have a super useful (and FREE) tool to craft your grocery list for you. With this grocery list in hand, you are less likely to stray over to the junk food. When you get smart and make a list, you are more likely to select quality foods and stay on track.

Furthermore, the Foodee recipes are highly accessible. I’m not one to attempt recipes with loads of ingredients. That’s too overwhelming and time intensive. These easy-to-master recipes are chalk-full of flavor while being light on the ingredients. So far, I have found the recipes simple to prepare, yet satiating.

What’s more, the site specifies Whole30 approved recipes. Whole30 approved recipes are devoid of added sugars (real or artificial), grains, legumes, dairy, and aren’t “Paleo-ified” renditions of desserts or treats.

These Whole30 recipes are designed for the Whole30 program. This program is a commitment to eat Paleo for 30 days. Many people have experienced incredible life and health transformation via this program. Learn more about it here.

What I love about Paleo is that it’s not restrictive or boring. Plus, the benefits are astounding. Eat Paleo to:

  • Feel satisfied and full
  • Boost your energy
  • Fuel your athletic performance at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym
  • Regulate your sugar levels
  • Reduce inflammation
  • Shed pounds
  • Reduce risk of metabolic disease
  • Excite your palate

Build a healthier, happier body so you can rock your workouts at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym and better meet your fitness goals.

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One Big Tall Tale of Mainstream Nutrition

Tall Tale: Low-Carb /Slow-Carb diets are dangerous and bad for you.

Slow-carb and low-carb diets are totally criticized by (uneducated) nutritionists and the media. As a slow-carb enthusiast myself, I am constantly being challenged by friends and family as to whether or not my way of eating is healthy. They consider me an extremist or some sort of obsessed health nut. I assure you, I’m not.

Truth is, low-carb or slow-carb eating is not extreme or obsessive at all. It is merely a basic, clean, and conscious way of eating. In fact, it’s the same way primitive humans ate. Evolutionary speaking, humans are designed to eat a low-carb, high-fat, and high-protein diet. Yes, it’s true. Unfortunately, the opposite is usually recommended: high-carb and low-fat. That combo is no good. In fact, this carb craze is the reason for obesity and other western world health epidemics.

If evolution is not enough to convince you, let’s turn to science. Science has consistently shown that low-carb/slow-carb diets have the potential to cure most of the Western world’s major health concerns and reduce fat.

Low-carb/slow-carb diets have been shown to…

  • Reduce body fat way more than calorie restricted diets (you know, the ones that never work out anyways). Low-carb eaters can eat as much as they want of low-carb foods and still cut fat. No restriction? Sounds good to me.
  • Decrease blood pressure significantly
  • Decrease blood sugar levels and alleviate symptoms of diabetes
  • Increase good cholesterol (HDL)
  • Decrease triglycerides (way more than a low-fat diet!)

What’s more, low-carb/slow-carb lifestyles are easier to stick to because they don’t involve calorie restriction. Plus, they provide adequate and substantial nutrients. It’s a scientific fact that low-carb or slow-carb diets have the greatest potential to ward off common health concerns, promote fat loss, and reverse metabolic disease.

So, the low-fat, high-carb dogma that is circulating around is complete nonsense. It’s not fat that’s going to make you fat. Science has shown that high carb diets are the diets that promote fat gain. Sugar is the fat-inducing culprit. Not fat. So, if you really want to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, low-carb or slow-carb is the way to go.

If you want to boost your fat loss and fitness goals you must pair your Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym workouts with a balanced, clean, and effective diet. Low-carb or slow-carb will not only promote fat loss. Being high in protein, it will also boost your workout performance at Pivotal fitness Greenville gym. Yet another reason to cut the carbs, up the fat, and up the protein!

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Water: A Fat Loss Dynamo?

Fitness, health, and nutrition experts and enthusiasts consistently claim that water boosts fat loss. But does it really? And if it does, how does this process work?

Let’s tackle the first question: Does water enhance fat loss?

The answer is YES. Okay…but why?

  1. Water serves as an appetite suppressant. If your water intake is sufficient, you are less likely to experience cravings. If you drink enough water, your hunger pains will be legitimate cries for food. If you don’t drink enough water, your hunger pains, more often than not, are probably cries for hydration.
  2. Your kidneys require an adequate supply of water. If they are leeched of water, they will not be happy and your body’s waste dumping process will be compromised. When the kidneys don’t get enough water, the liver ends up operating poorly. Your liver is responsible for receiving fat cells and converting them into energy (instead of letting them sit around and accumulate). With enough water, this conversion happens quickly and effectively, optimizing fat loss.
  3. When you start shedding fat, the body senses an emergency. Evolutionarily speaking, lack of fat suggests lack of food, which in turn, suggests lack of resources, including lack of water. Drinking an abundance of water helps to keep that biological panic and a potential binge at bay.
  4. Consuming lots of water increases urine output. Urinating is a process of thermogenesis – a mechanism by which the body produces heat. When your body produces heat, it’s using up energy i.e. burning calories. So, the more trips to the W.C. you take, the more calories your are burning.
  5. Drinking water boosts metabolism because the body has to warm the water up to body temperature. This increase in heat production burns more calories. It is recommended that you drink 1 liter of water first thing in the morning to really jump-start your metabolism.

Clearly, water appears to benefit the process of fat loss. However, I wouldn’t label it a fat loss dynamo. While it does offer mild support in aiding fat loss, it takes much more to burn fat and keep it off. It takes a clean, balanced diet combined with an active lifestyle. Drinking lots of water will not prevent weight gain and cut fat in the absence of the other healthy-living components. But if you have a healthy diet and keep up with your workouts at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym, water holds promise to augment your fat loss.

If you do both strength training and cardio at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville athletic club, try to drink about 1 gallon of water per day to sufficiently augment fat loss.

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