Nutrition

Unleash the power of juice!

I made this delicious glass of Organic Celery/Green Apple juice today, and thought I’d stop and share with you some of the amazing and little known benefits of Celery!

Celery juice is highly nutritious and one of the most hydrating foods we can put in our bodies. Because it is incredibly alkalizing, it equalizes the body’s PH, which is vital for peak health. In ancient times, it was considered a medicinal herb used to treat a variety of health complaints. The minerals and vitamins and nutrients are in perfect harmony with each other. Celery leaves are high in vitamin A, whilst the stems are an excellent source of vitamins B1, B2, B6 and C and dense in potassium, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, sodium and essential amino acids.

This super food also contains important concentrations of plant hormones and the very special essential oils that give celery its characteristic smell. These oils help to regulate the nervous system, and are very calming.

Other Potential Benefits of Celery Juice

Caught Cheating

You know the old saying, “Winners never cheat, and cheaters never win”…but when it comes to food and eating within strict guidelines there may be something to be said for cheating.  What?!  It’s true…

Some studies have indicated that your metabolism can benefit from surprise calories on a occasion and I think that having a ‘cheat day’ can provide mental relief for some people. So instead of saying to a friend at dinner on Thursday,  “No, I can’t have cheeseburgers”, even though you want one – which feels depressing, you can say “I will have a Cheeseburger on Sunday, I’ll have a salad today”.  A lot of people eat that way, with rules, to prevent over indulgence.

If you do decide to have a cheat day or cheat meal make sure it’s out of the house so you do not have to buy and store the tempting items at home.

I read an article once about a famous slim celebrity who said she rotates between a very strict diet for one

12 Easy Ways to Prevent & Treat Muscle Soreness

Everyone experiences sore muscles sometimes – it’s how you know you

really had a good workout right?  Well, here are some awesome ways to

reduce your discomfort…

Things you can do before your training session

Hydrate – This should go without saying, but people forget. Drinking plenty of water is one of your best defenses against muscle soreness. I recommend 96 ounces per day to my clients.

Front-load your nutrition – The food you eat before you workout is the fuel that your body will use to repair your muscles. Make sure to get plenty of good nutrition the day(s) before a heavy training session. A good rule of thumb for your macronutrient ratios the day before training is 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fats. This should serve as a starting point for individual experimentation. The day of your training session you should be eating a diet high in protein, complex carbs, and “good, healthy” fats.

Fruits, Veggies & Peacocks

Between the farm stand, the zoo, the tractor rides and field after field of produce for

the picking I can’t think of a much better outing for the family then Underwood Family

Farms in Moorpark! We had so much fun there last weekend I had to share. The produce

is healthy, the fresh air is awesome and strolling through the berry patch is fun and

relaxing!

Check me out with my produce wagon…

Oh, and you might see Jennifer Garner there with her kids!

http://www.underwoodfamilyfarms.com/

Snack Attack!

I recently posted this question on my Facebook Page and

got some great responses I thought I’d share.  Feel free to

“Like” my page if you haven’t already and share a couple

of your own ideas!

Personal Training by Miguel

A lot of my clients have trouble getting in healthy snacks, aside from the usual fruit, string cheese, nonfat yogurt…What are your faves??

• Janet DeForest Fish – I like a small serving of low fat cottage cheese. It’s filling and stays with me for a while. Sometimes if I have it, some fresh pineapple on the side rounds it out perfectly. It really isn’t a lot, but does work.

  15 hours ago · Like · 1 person

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  Sydney Liebes – Go to Costco and get individual sabra hummus packs and individual packages of baby carrots! Portion control, delicious and nutritious! Apples and peanut butter are always tasty… cottage cheese with avocado or tomato… Edamame is sold now on microwavable steam packages at Costco too! Woo hoo! So many choices!

  15 hours ago · Like · 1 person

• 

  Patrick Bulger – I like a tall glass of coconut milk. Healthy, slightly sweet, and remarkably filling!

  15 hours ago · Like · 2 people

• 

  Candy Ward Nawroth – I don’t like snacks, too overwelming trying to figure out what I should have…hummus? Still confused about hummus. Good for you? Sydney – thanks for the costco tips, going to get the edamame!

  14 hours ago · Like

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  Personal Training by Miguel ‎@Candy – hummus is good for you, its even better for you if you make it yourself in the food processor, so easy. Here’s a link to a recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/real-hummus
  You can skip the tahini if you don’t have it.

  14 hours ago · Like · 1 person

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  Personal Training by Miguel I also love almond butter from trader joe’s with apple or celery, however if weight loss is your current goal, nuts and nut butters should be consumed sparingly if at all.

  14 hours ago · Like

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  Cathy Ward Jones – frozen grapes are a good summer treat and also, take a graham cracker break in half and spread a layer of cool whip between to make a sandwich and freeze

  14 hours ago · Like · 1 person

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  Personal Training by Miguel ‎@Cathy- not sure about the cool whip…lol…but Frozen Grapes ROCK! Forgot about those…what a great treat and grapes are a very low glycemic index fruit. These ideas are awesome!

  12 hours ago · Like

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  Cathy Ward Jones – using sugar free cool whip!

  12 hours ago · Like

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  Cathy Ward Jones – what is edamame? we don’t have costco here is it only there?

  12 hours ago · Like · 1 person

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  Karina Giselle Fuentes – watermelon and strawberries! Yum!

  10 hours ago · Like · 1 person

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  Karina Giselle Fuentes – I also like chopped cucumbers and tomatoes with lime and a little bit of tajin seasoning 🙂

  10 hours ago · Like · 1 person

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  Personal Training by Miguel Yummy ideas! Edamame are soy beans, here’s a link for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edamame
  They are available at many grocery stores now.

  9 hours ago · Like

3 Steps to Killer Abs

I get so many friends and clients asking for killer Ab work-outs I decided to share my

expertise with everyone…(I’m cool like that)….

Step #1 Nutrition

You cannot get your abdominals to stand out and trim your waistline, unless you address

the area of nutrition. The only way to get your abs to stand out is to remove the layer of fat

that is keeping them from been exposed. My clients have access to a detailed nutrition

plan to assist them, and I will tell you that refined carbs and sugar substitutes are major

causes of excess stomach fat.

All the abdominal training in the world will do very little to remove the fat from your

midsection. You need to look at your nutritional habits and meal planning, as well as using

interval training and a full body resistance training plan to stimulate your metabolism and

burn the fat that covers your abs.

Step #2 Interval Training

SSC (Steady State Cardio) is good, but you really need to be using "Higher Intensity"

interval training, in order to boost your metabolism and continue burning calories for

several hours post workout.

Interval training can be performed via circuit training or running, cycling, rowing, etc.

Personally I prefer to use running, circuit training or boxing for my interval training

workouts.

Treadmill running is another great way to get in your high intensity interval work. Basically

you will want your workout to last no more than 20 minutes, including a warm up and cool

down period.

Here’s an example HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) treadmill workout:

• 3 Minutes warm up period.
• 90 Seconds High Intensity Running.
• 60 Seconds Active Recovery (Walking at a 4 or less)
• Repeat x 6 (This equals 15 minutes)
• 2 Minutes cool down period.

If you find that during the 60 second active recovery period you want to walk faster or want

to jog, this means that you were not working intensely enough during the 90 second high

intensity running section. If you’re working intensely enough you will need to walk slow,

believe me!

Step #3 Abdominal Exercises

Start off with 2 effective abdominal training sessions per week, start off slow and just do

4-5 sets of 20-25 reps. As you feel your abs are getting less sore and better conditioned,

add a few more sets to each session or throw in new and more difficult exercises like

hanging knee raises or Russian twists with a medicine ball. Let the healthy eating and

cardio work do the rest to eliminate all the unwanted body fat that’s covering up the cuts in

your abs.

Examples of very effective Ab exercises:

Plank (try using 1 foot)

Scissor Kicks

Ab Crunch on an Exercise Ball

Mountain Climbers

Russian Twist

Reverse Crunch

Stability Ball Pass Hands to Feet

Hand 2 Heel Mountain Climbers

The Captain’s Chair (hanging knee raises, try a twist here)

Stability Ball Knee Tucks

Stability Ball/Bosu Plank

Spiderman Push Ups

Upside-down Crunches

Upside-down Crunches Holding Weight

Stability Ball Knee Tucks:

Spiderman Push Ups :

Hand 2 Heel Mountain Climbers:

By Popular Demand – Juice Recipes

• Buy Organic when possible and leave skin on unless it’s really tough like cantaloupe or pineapple.  I use carrots to push through leafy greens and you can add a squeeze of lemon to any of these to add brightness and increase alkalinity…

Why Juice? Here’s why…

     The first home juice extractor was not invented until the 1930s. It was called the Norwalk Juicer, by nutritionist Dr. Norman Walker. He was 110 years old when he died in 1984. His juicer worked by grating produce, placing the resulting mash in a bag, and then squeezing the bag under a hydraulic press. It was big and clunky, but it made great juice.

We are lucky to have so many amazing counter top machines available today, I just got

this one yesterday and it is seriously awesome!

Juicing helps you Lose Weight, Look Younger and…

All about Fat!

Oh yeah, it’s that dirtiest of “F” words!  Thought I’d take a moment to debunk a few myths for you.

 Cellulite

Medically speaking, there is no such thing as cellulite. It’s a marketing term for plain old pudge that ripples (mostly on the thighs) in varying degrees in 50 to 90 percent of women, regardless of clothing size or fitness level. This clumpy fat results from fat cells stored just under the skin in honeycomb-like structures held in place by bands of connective tissue. The more fat cells stuffed into each honeycomb, the more puckered the texture. Since cellulite is just ordinary body fat, there is no unique low carb diet trick or cellulite treatment to remove it. The bottom line? A calorie-controlled diet that consists of whole, healthy foods plus exercise will help you lose fat throughout your body.

Eating Fat

Fat is the slowest food component to clear the stomach, so for years it was assumed

Great Q&A with a Westlake Village personal training client

One of my Westlake Village personal training clients asked a great question – so I’m sharing my answers with everyone!