Why Drink More Water?

Want to improve your skin, health, and aid your weight loss efforts? Drink more water. This tried and true method gets over looked too often. The popular 17 Day Diet suggests you drink at least 8 eight cups daily and during the jumpstart phase of the Flat Belly Diet, 8 cups of “sassy water” are mandatory. But can this tasteless liquid really live up to all its claims read on to find out…

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Health Benefits of Drinking Water:

Healthier Skin-Forget about expensive creams or beauty treatments. Drinking water is the free way to hydrate your skin, prevent acne, and prevent wrinkles.
Remove Toxins-Water flushes toxins from your body especially from your digestive tract. The kidney system is dependent on water to do its work. Water also helps get rid of excess nitrogen and ketones which is important when following a high protein diet.
Cushions and Supports [...]

Healthy, Lean, & Vegan

I spent the morning hiking with a close friend who had just completed a month of veganism. She partook in the challenge to be “healthier & leaner.” Did it work? She reported back this morning that not only did she gain six pounds; she, also, felt too sluggish to workout. I of course had to ask what she was eating daily to make her gain weight and lose energy. The culprit: protein, well more lack thereof.

If you are unsure of why our bodies need protein, check out “Get Your Protein.” The short story is that protein repairs muscle tissue, keeps you full, and provides the body with needed energy. In my friends case, meat, eggs, and dairy had been her number one source of protein for years and she didn’t know what to supplement her diet with when she cut those things out. Cutting out animal products can be an excellent [...]

Kale Heaven

Craving something crispy, salty, crunchy, and full of flavor? Put that potato chip bag down and reach for something 100 times better, Kale chips. Kale chips? You may ask. They satisfy every salty and crunchy craving you have and even if you don’t like kale give these a try. I promise you wont regret it like you will that potato chip bag.

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Benefits of Kale

Low calorie, high in fiber, and has 0 fat. 1 cup only has 36 calories!
High in iron: not sure what Popeye was thinking eating spinach.
Packed with antioxidants
Anti-inflammatory: 1 cup has 10% the RDA of omega-3 acids
High in vitamin A which is great for your skin, vision, and mouth health.

Not only are these chips a [...]

AUGUST ABS

This months challenge is based on the previous challenges that we have completed. We have done squats, pushups, and core workouts. So in the August Abs challenge we are bringing it to the next level (it might be a challenge for someone just starting out but you can always adjust it according to your level). August 1 starts with 50 crunches if you can’t do 50 crunches in a row, do as many as possible, rest and begin again until you do 50. Do the same with the bicycle crunches on August 2 and the preceding days. More rest will be required in this challenge as well. Your body is doing more work and it is important to give it rest so that your muscles can recover and rebuild, Sculpting a longer and leaner body.
abs Read more

Raw Recipe: Creamy Nectarine & Blackberry Smoothie

Going fully raw isn’t easy. But remember you don’t have to become fully raw to reap the benefits. Adding raw foods to your regular diet can be helpful as well. Try by starting out with 1 meal a day raw – breakfast might be the easiest and I have a raw smoothie recipe below to help! You can double this recipe if you want to consume more – this recipe makes a 16 oz smoothie.

You could also jump right in to the Raw food world and try a raw food cleanse to see if the diet is right for you. First check out our previous post “What Can A Raw Food Cleanse Do For You?”. We have apps for trying a cleanse out. You can do 3 days, 7 days, 14 days or 28 days. These cleanses will help [...]

10 Commandments of Weight Loss

10commandments
Stop Coveting
Your first step to weight loss is to compare yourself to yourself and yourself only. We all compare ourselves to the 5 foot 8 inch girl we know who weighs 120 pounds and eats BLT’s everyday. Competing with others will only hinder us of reaching out own goals. Love Yourself!
Have a Plan
Make a plan and stick to it. Plan your meals and workout to make it easier to accomplish your goals. Realize your faults and plan around them. If you always skip breakfast, make something in advanced that you just have to heat up (our egg muffins are prefect for busy mornings) or buy some low sugar protein bars to have on-the-go.
Plan Cheat Meals
If you really want to lose weight you need to eat clean and accept that a [...]

Bouldering and the Importance of Moderation

bouldering
I spent this past weekend and earlier this week in Portland, Oregon visiting friends in family. Four days spent in beautiful weather was just the thing I needed to recharge my batteries. Although, fun and exciting vacations can also be difficult and exhausting. During a vacation, it is hard to stick to your diet and workout routine and if you are anything like me, you love routine. Normally, I stress about keeping my diet strict and finding time for long workouts.

I decided to approach this trip a little differently. To let loose, enjoy the trip, and get back in routine when vacation was over. I enjoyed every bit of vegan chocolate and every bite of a black bean burger I put into my mouth (it was Oregon). I didn’t forsake all workouts [...]

Paleo Sweets

A common question is what to eat while on the Paleo diet. Many are confused. A quick guideline of foods to not eat are: no grains, no sugar (some use Honey), no artificial sweeteners, no soy, no trans-fats, no legumes and for some no dairy. Sounds kind of scary to most, I am sure. Especially the lack of grains and sugar. That means regular commercial breads, crackers, donuts, cookies, etc. BUT, there are ways to create some of your favorite foods in Paleo form. I’ve compiled a little list of foods to enjoy while on Paleo, just for fun. Foods you wouldn’t normally think could be Paleo. Like waffles and muffins!

And while I got you thinking about going Paleo I’d like to mention our awesome app for iPhone. It guides you the whole way. It’s called Paleo Complete. It’s got recipes, weight [...]

Short on Time? Blast 100 calories Fast

Only got ten minutes to get in a workout?
Or maybe 30 minutes fits your schedule. This fat blasting, tone-up circuit fits in any schedule. One round is exactly ten minutes and will get your heart moving, tone your muscles and blast 100 calories. If you have more time, do the circuit multiple times and watch your fat cry! Do each exercise for one minute followed directly by the next exercise. Ten moves completes one circuit. If you are doing multiple circuits, rest one minute in-between. Use a Gymboss Interval Timer and Stopwatch to help keep track of time.
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Skinny-Jeans Brownies

It seems I have a sweet tooth. Last week, I made lemon bars and tonight I made brownies. And, if these were just any brownies, I wouldn’t be able to fit in my jeans tomorrow with all these delicious desserts running around my kitchen. Lucky for me, I have a recipe that keeps me in my skinny jeans and tames my sweet tooth.

Brownies
I love this clean eating recipe because you can adapt it to fit any eating style. There are variations for Gluten-Free , Paleo, and Vegan diets.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (oat flour, almond, or coconut flour)
1/4 tsp. each baking powder and salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 tablespoons Coconut OilRead more

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A supportive network dedicated to Dieting and Healthy Living

Health

Weight Loss

Food

Fitness

Life

Diets

3 Day Diet

17 Day Diet

Blood Type Diet

DASH Diet

Dukan Diet

Flat Belly Diet

Paleo Diet

Raw Food Diet

The Zone Diet