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Fresh Juice for Fat Loss and Detox

Have you or your friends ever gone on a juice detox?

Maybe there is some benefit to going on a juice cleanse, but I am more in the category of having fresh juice as a regular part of your diet. What are the benefits of fresh juice for fat loss?

Benefits of Fresh Juice include…

There are many benefits to fresh juice.

  • Extremely high antioxidant value
  • Very easy to digest so it supports the gut health and therefore the immune system
  • Provides a plethora of easily absorbed vitamins and minerals
  • Takes the work and time out of eating a lot of vegetables

My favorite juice

Carrot / Beet / Ginger

Extremely high nutrient density found in this fresh Carrot/Beet/Ginger/Parsley juice and Wheatgrass shot.

Extremely high nutrient density found in this fresh Carrot/Beet/Ginger/Parsley juice and Wheatgrass shot.

Let’s examine a little bit deeper here.

Carrots: A fantastic base for the juice and actually juices very well so your juicing machine processes it well. Tons of beta-carotene which can be converted inside the body to Vitamin A if needed. Tastes great and protects your skin from free radicals.

Beets: I could go on and on about beets. The antioxidants in beets are superior for the immune system and other components of beets have been proven over and over again to improve the oxygen pathways in and out of the cells. Beets are nature’s version of N.O. Xplode, except way better for you. Beets also support kidney and liver detox and so much more.

Ginger: Wow, Ginger truly is the “Great Root” as branded by Rachel’s Ginger Beer here in Seattle. I remember reading about the benefits of ginger from a book by the founder of New Chapter herbs. Aside from the potent anti-inflammatory effects of ginger (to support recovery), Ginger improves the composition of bacteria in the body. In fact, research is showing that the combination of bacteria in your gut may be related to your ability to burn fat. IF your stomach bacteria is opportunistic and unhealthy, you will struggle to lose weight. On the other hand, if you have many healthy symbiotic bacterial colonies in your stomach, then fat loss comes easier. Ginger, you are the great root.

I love this juice. It helps me make up for the not-so-good things that I might partake in or be exposed to. From there, you can add so many things… Lemon, kale, parsley, garlic, cucumber, celery, apple, orange, etc etc.

Fresh Juice is your ally, Odwalla is not.

There’s a cost/benefit decision that must be made for most things in life. Fresh Juice contains tons of antioxidants, enzymes, and an overall abundance of nutrients so it is worth drinking these liquid calories. On the other hand, pasteurized store-bought juice is no longer a “living food.”

If you were thirsty, you could probably drink this in a minute or less. That's nearly 60 grams of sugar instantly being digested and likely being stored as body fat

If you were thirsty, you could probably drink this in a minute or less. That’s nearly 60 grams of sugar instantly being digested and likely being stored as body fat

Moreover, pasteurized store-bought juice typically uses apple and other sweet fruits as a base, therefore the sugar content is sure to wreck a would-be dieter’s fat loss plans. The sugar in fresh juice (such as carrot sugar) is offset by all the veggies and enzymes. On the other hand, sugar in Odwalla is excessive and will surely be stored as fat either in your belly or thighs.

Drink fresh juice for overall health and longevity

If you consumed 10-15 servings of vegetables per day, do you think you would reach your fat loss goals?

Do you think you would have a less chance of cancer and literally every other disease known to man?

Do you think you would have less symptoms for whatever you are currently dealing with?

Fresh YES!!

Well that’s that folks, stay tuned for more. Contact me if you want anything specific because I’ll write a post just for you.

Nutrition, Immunity, and Digestion
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Launching the Next Level Challenge at Orangetheory Fitness in Seattle’s Capitol Hill Neigbhorhood

Next Level Challenge

We launched the Next Level Challenge to engage you first and foremost. I am spreading mindfulness about energy and life in people’s cells. A lot goes on during the intake, partake, and outtake of our digestive services.

Fresh Salmon

Healthy fats, proteins, and leafy stuff

Daily victories

A lot goes on inside the gut. Bring home nutritious food to reach your fitness goals. Save the savory, sweet, rich, intense and complex flavors for that time when you splurge at the awesome restaurant in Seattle (especially Capitol Hill).

Eat healthy food daily and then coming here isn't bad. It could be a quite good evening!

You’ve been eating healthy all week, so it could be quite a good evening!

When at home, it should be healthful eating in some way

Vitality

When fat loss plateau’s, sometimes a person is depleted of various minerals or other essential nutrients. So nutrition’s complexity forces us to learn more about what we eat. Since food is your fuel in more ways than caloric burn, you can use it to your advantage by doing simple things like increasing fiber intake.

High intensity exercise has been proven to be anti-aging. That’s how you stay healthy by keeping your cells young. I seriously want to workout with everybody.

Social Media

@OTFSeattle @dre4fit

Orangetheory Fitness Seattle Orangetheory Seattle
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5 Insights from Holistic Health for FAT LOSS

Want to burn more fat?

The goal seems simple yet our bodies respond in curious ways. Lets look at body composition.

Runners, explosiveness/strength vs endurance/distance

Differences in body comp, maybe its okay to be heavier than runway model standard or ultra endurance runner (r)

Think about body composition for a moment. You may notice an individual who is exceptionally lean no matter what they are wearing. Their body composition would indicate low levels of body fat.

How do we burn more body fat?

Focus on the gut

I think fat gets way too much attention, probably because you can see it. We can’t kill the fat cells, but we can make them smaller. The fat cells must receive hormonal signals in order to begin the burn of energy from fat cells. In other words, it’s the fat cells themselves that burn the fat, yet it’s the internal system that must first produce the signal.

Once you have a certain amount of fat cells, they can only shrink in size -- never disappear.

Once you have a certain amount of fat cells, they can only shrink in size — never disappear.

To signal fat cells to burn fat, the most common way is to workout. High intensity exercise can be short and still burn a ton of fat. The HIIT workout (example: Orangetheory) will burn fat mostly due to the hormonal release post-workout. These are the signalers that tell the fat cells to use energy and therefore get smaller.

The gut is complicated

Take a moment to think about all of the organs in your torso. There is much life within my human digestive system, it’s like totally ecological. There are so many billions of non-human life inside my body, it’s a biotic fiesta in my stomach. I like to celebrate with my gut and with my friends.

TBT may'n, back at LP Athletics trying to have healthy gut micro-flora

TBT may’n, back at LP Athletics focusing on strength and having healthy gut micro-flora

Aside from the fact that the digestive system is the biggest key to human immunity, the gut is ground zero for so many metabolic processes. The nutrients we consume from food contain catalysts for physiological, biological, and hormonal elements that life would be impossible without it. Therefore pure fat loss is impossible without nutrients.

Nutrients are the most valuable

Don’t leave it to scientists to discover everything, but it’s pretty amazing the advances in nutrient science with the last few decades. It’s unlikely we’ll understand everything about nutrition, but we can go on these ideas:

  • Nutrients come in many forms, for example: 
    • vitamins, minerals, water
    • dietary fats, carbohydrates, proteins
    • antioxidants, phytonutrients, fiber
  • Doing it right

    Doing it right

    • enzymes, pre-biotics, pro-biotics
    • curcumin, gingerols, dietary nitrates
    • etc
  • The goal is to improve symbiosis within the gut and surrounding organ systems between human cells and colonies of bacteria
    • Lactobacillus acidophilus is a commonly mentioned pro-biotic in our guts
  • A calorie is probably still a calorie, but most of us don’t really appreciate the depth at which food impacts our metabolic lives  24/7 including how fast the cells age!
    • Anti-aging strategies always involve exercise and nutrition
  • You can’t beat real food and herbal sources
    • Fresh, green food provides many catalysts for fat loss, and also for systemic health
    • High quality herbal extracts have benefited human health for thousands of years
  • It’s less about what you don’t eat, than what you do eat
    • Even if you restrict calories, you may be restricting nutrients as well
    • A low calorie poor diet is still a poor diet — dieters may become nutrient deficient if their food is not nutrient-dense.
    • The nutrients contain catalysts — cellular processes – sending signals to fat cells
    • Give your body a reason to burn fat, for example: antioxidants

You always knew it was about the gut anyway

If you’ve ever had a gut feeling, you may have experienced a range of feelings, emotions, and experiences from within the gut; Some pleasant, some anxious, others perhaps made you feel compelled to action.

Listen to the gut. Focus on nutrients. Simplify your life by consuming fresh vegetables.

And if you have a sweet tooth like me, you could be eating berries almost every day of the year. Blueberries are loaded in antioxidants. Give your body a reason to burn fat. Nutrients. Antioxidants. A reason.

You'll be excited about this when your eating window is only 8 hours long

YEEEE!!

Good luck my readership. May you eat mindfully and enjoy your existence inside and out.

and Digestion Immunity Nutrition Orangetheory Fitness Seattle Orangetheory Seattle
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What do you Eat before and After the Workout?

Brandon, Orangetheory group fitness coach, was sitting next to me

And then we asked. . .

Nutrition strategies revealed!

Nutrition strategies revealed!

Is it best to eat before or after the workout?

Lets just go over the perspectives for a moment.

Option 1: Exercise on mostly empty stomach before workout, with carb feeding within zero to sixty minutes of high intensity exercise

The idea is that you will burn significant body fat during the workout since, “there is nothing else in the system, so the fat burns off!”

Post-workout nutrition strategies such as this can support the preservation of lean muscle mass by feeding on dense carbohydrate sources immediately and within the hours of a workout. Thus burning more fat in a shorter time.

Option 2: Fuel the workout! Consume from a variety of food sources including carbohydrates before the workout

With the second option, the exerciser purposely consumes carbs 1-2 hours pre-workout with the goal of making fitness progression. By Powerrring through an intense training session (which itself can be addictive), the post-workout release of testosterone and many natural healthy hormones for both sexes activate Fat Burning potential.

A sandwich I once ate ate Marlene's in Tacoma before my workout at the nearby athletic club which I worked at

A sandwich I once ate at Marlene’s in Tacoma before my workout at the nearby athletic club which I worked at

Regular cycles of intense workouts will naturally promote healthy glucose management and is key in the activation of the hormone adiponectin — a powerful fat burning catalyst which fat cells themselves release!  This effect occurs more frequently and with better results by having the habit of eating nutrient dense foods and exercising vigorously for sixty minutes up to four times per week.

Eat post-workout in addition to pre-workout so that you may achieve full recovery sooner. Perhaps give somebody a massage or even yourself.

Everybody is different

It seems that Option 1 will burn fat more rapidly, but may hinder performance… so then it comes down to goals at this time in your training history.

Personally I do what I can to enjoy the workout and that means eating a rich energy source before my workout. Fresh vegetable juice (including some root) is my all-time favorite pre-workout. I also go for smoothies if I need something easy to digest.

Do something good for you

By reading this and considering nutrition choices you are on the right track. I hope this has made you think more about the benefits of timing nutrition. Every moment you take to be mind-ful about nutrition will take you greater places in health, longevity and of course fat loss.

Eat on people!

Nutrition, Immunity, and Digestion
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Thoughts on Cyclical Nature of health and wellness

Most of what we know about life.

Is Cyclical

occurring in cycles; recurrent.

The cycles which effect life are mostly out of our control. Therefore, just as you can imagine people going through harsh winters, we must adapt (or move the heck outta there!).

Adaptation occurs through cycles

Sleep. Wake. Eat. Move. Rest. Eat. Sleep

Image

By eating certain foods, we add stimulus into the systems — the cycles become enhanced by antioxidants and energizing nutrients.

Cycle your fruits and vegetables, especially your supplements

Variety of beneficial nutrients is key. Focus on one goal at a time. Such as: Consume kale three times per week.

The following week you will be able to experiment with other fruits and vegetables. Listen to how your body feels when you eat these foods. If you are eating “enough” fruits and vegetables, then you should look very lean in the midsection.

Power of the Mind