Foods that Nourish you on the Inside and Outside - Cottage Cheese

Dairy is good for your bones and face. But it’s the selenium in cottage cheese, not the calcium, that makes it a beneficial food. Selenium, an essential mineral, teams up with vitamin E as a powerful free radical-fighting antioxidant duo. Plus, it’ll protect against skin cancer and fight dandruff.

Cottage cheese is rich in Calcium and full of protein, important for bone density, making cottage cheese a healthy addition to your diet. It also contains riboflavin, vitamins B-12 and B-6, folate and vitamin A. Cottage cheese is a source of other minerals such as zinc, potassium, and phosphorous. 

Foods that Nourish you on the Inside and Outside - Mushrooms

Rich in riboflavin, a B vitamin that’s vital to your skin. Riboflavin (vitamin B2) is involved in tissue maintenance and repair, and improves skin blemishes caused by rosacea. Mushrooms also pack more antioxidants than some vegetables according to WebMD - "Antioxidants help cells in the body ward off damage from dangerous oxygen molecules called free radicals. Free radicals may play a role in serious illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease."

Put them on your list. Mushrooms are good for the inside and out!

Foods that Nourish you on the Inside and Outside - Mangoes

Mangoes have more than 80% of your daily requirements for vitamin A, a rich antioxidant making them good for you inside and out. They’re such a great food for your skin as well because vitamin A maintains and repairs skin cells.

Bonus, they're only 70 calories per serving! So throw some frozen mango into your protein smoothie to add that extra yum. ;)

Foods that Nourish you on the Inside and Outside - Avocados

Avocados - Full of essential oils and B-complex. They contain lots of Niacin (vitamin B3) is especially important for healthy skin. Niacin, an anti-inflammatory, it soothes irritated skin and red, blotchy skin.

One avocado has 3.8 mg niacin – 27% of your daily need

Bonus: Avocado fats are a Monounsaturated Fatty Acids. Mono's are the good fats and are key when trying to lose weight.

Foods that Nourish you on the Inside and Outside - Baked Potatoes

Yes, baked potatoes! They contain 75% of your daily copper need, this essential mineral works with vitamin C (also contained in a potato) and zinc to produce the elastin fibers that support skin structure.

Potatoes are a complex carb loaded with fiber, which means they break down slower and make you feel fuller longer. Long snubbed by the GI, research has shown that the GI label is incorrect. Preparation can change the GI level, such as baking. Just be aware of what you put on it!

Tip: Try replacing sour cream with greek yogurt.

Truth or Myth: The Lies you Believe about Losing Weight #5

Reduced Fat or Fat Free products will help you lose weight

This is clever marketing. Words like All Natural and even Organic get tossed around in the same context, to make you believe that you are making a better decision for your body. Oftentimes the opposite is true. Reduced or Fat Free products might lower the grams of fat, but if you read the labels carefully, it's usually the same amount of calories just redistributed into chemicals and or heavier carbs and sugars.

If you know how to read labels, you have everything you need to make healthy decisions in the foods you buy. Don't be fooled by the marketing hype on the front of the label. Look to the ingredients on the back. This is where the truth is (or at least what the FDA makes them own up to).

Want to learn how to read a label? Make better choices? Like my Facebook Page and come to my Nutrition Ignition Classes every Saturday @ The Studio. You can sign up online!

Truth or Myth: The Lies you Believe about Losing Weight #4

Never eat after 8 or you'll gain weight.

People believe this because people say this, but it's a myth. The thinking is that you aren't active at night so you shouldn't be fueling your body, and an undeniable truth is, the evening is when we eat things that have the most calories, e.g. that after dinner desert.

The truth is, if you're Fueling Your Body Efficiently throughout the day, you should eat up until an hour before you go to bed in order to maintain Blood Sugar Stabilization. This will help your body to wake up refreshed and energized.

I teach all these things about eating at my Fuel Your Body to work Efficiently for you Workshops @ The Studio. Education is your strongest weapon in the battle to lose weight. You can check dates and register all online.

Truth or Myth: The Lies you Believe about Losing Weight #3

Eating Pasta Makes you Fat

It's not the Pasta that's making you fat, it's the way you're eating it. hence the image. This is a lot of pasta, probably filled with cheese, doused in a heavy cream sauce...It looks absolutely divine, and this is the pull. I've long said that pasta should be a side dish. I love Pasta! I don't want to give it up, but once you pile a plate high, smother on some sauce and load it up with cheese, you've now created a very fattening dish indeed.

What to do? Well Dr. Oz says to use the A-OK sign with your fingers as a measurement for uncooked pasta. I say it's going to be different for different people but if you have a cup of pasta and drop on top of it a beautiful piece of salmon or chicken and then put a little bit of pesto or even cooking juices (cooked in olive oil of course) over the top, you have quite a lovely & healthy dish.

Like me on Facebook to get great ideas and shortcuts on eating healthy! 

Truth or Myth: The Lies you Believe about Losing Weight #2

The More Calories you cut The More Weight You Lose.

Not necessarily. Our bodies adjust to the nutrients we put in them. If a good portion of your calories are made up of processed foods lacking nutrients, your body will slow down your metabolism and goes into crisis mode, storing fat and using muscle for energy. A low metabolism means you are slow moving slower and burning less calories. You might lose weight, but you're losing the wrong weight.

What to do? Eat every 3-4 hours a meal of nutrient rich whole foods containing protein, fats, and carbohydrates. This will stabilize your blood sugar, boost your metabolism and help you to burn burn burn. The more of that stored fat you burn away, the more your body will need additional calories to make up for the used storage.

Learn more at my Fuel Your Body to work Efficiently For You Workshops @ The Studio in Newbury Park

Ormedic bio-peptide creme by Image Skincare

I think I'm in love.

From the first time I used the Bio-Peptide creme from the Ormedic line at Image, I could SEE a difference in my skin. Literally see it.

I'm not just saying that because truth be told, I used the Vital C hydrating enzyme mask and though the scent was divine, after about 5 minutes it was burning my skin so I rinsed it off. I'm not sure what caused the reaction. I think my skin was a little overworked at the time. I tried it again a week later and it was fine, but our relationship is a little strained now. 

However, the Bio-peptide creme and I have been smooth sailing since day 1. My skin feels better and it's  evened out my skin tone, noticeably. It also doesn't hurt that it smells very good. I've gotten into a little routine using the BP creme at night and am extremely happy with the results. I have to say, I'm loving these products more and more. So what's in it? Let's go down the list:

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract (Organic) - Aloe Vera leaf. We all know the benefits of Aloe, but for those who want to know specifically, used topically, it heals skin, protects against UV damage, helps with skin conditions such as acne and rosacea, is high in antioxidants, contains salicylic acid which has anti-aging benefits. I could go on but we know already. Aloe is great for your skin.

Olea Europaea Oil (Organic) - Olive Oil. Since it has high vitamin E content, olive oil acts as a powerful antioxidant for the skin. Its regular application helps in maintaining youthful, healthy, glowing skin. Olive oil is a natural moisturizer as well, and you can use it for balancing the moisture levels of the skin.

Apricot Oil - Plant Extract

Japanese Green Tea (Organic) Green tea is a potent anti-inflammatory agent thereby reducing inflammation in the skin, and most importantly having an inhibitory action on collagenase, which is a collagen-reducing enzyme that breaks down collagen.

Palmitoyl Oligopeptide - Matrixyl - Stimulate collagen production and encourage the production of inter-cellular matrix substances such as hyaluronic acids

Ubiquinone - also known as CoQ10. The latest research suggests that topical application of CoQ10 has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects

Sodium Hyaluronate found naturally in the extra-cellular space within bodily tissues, especially in the face, this lovely little ingredient helps your skin bring and absorb more water more effectively helping to support and hydrate the skin.

Shea Butter - is a rich source of antioxidants

Grape Seed Extract - Rich with a number of very potent antioxidants that help for diminish the sun’s damaging effects and reduce free-radical damage

Cucumber Extract - There isn't a lot of basis for the theory that Cucumber helps soothe puffy eyes, however there is research showing the lutein component of cucumber can have an effect on suppressing melanogenesis, or the process that leads to skin discolorations. Additional in-vitro research has shown that the constituents in cucumber can help protect skin against carcinogenic substances that cause tumors.

Truth or Myth: The Lies you Believe about Losing Weight

 

It’s the 5th of March and I’m a week behind on Dr. Oz. I think I suffered from D.O. overload from the week before, Actually, I watched this episode yesterday and I thought, just in case you didn’t get to see it, I should recap these “Five Diet Myths Busted!”

There were 25 in total. He didn’t get to debunk them all. We’ll cover his 5 first, then see how far we get. No promises. So here’s number 1.

First up to bat. Diet Soda.

Have you ever watched his show? Then you know his format. He’s interactive. Pulling people up on stage with him, using them to demonstrate his points. Now I think Dr. Oz is downright sexy but I don’t believe that I would endure being wrapped in saran wrap sporting a red hard hat, getting lord knows what dumped all over me. Not even for him. Megan is a brave soul indeed. She’s one of the believers that if it has less calories, then artificial sweeteners be dammed, it’s gotta be good for you. He so sweetly asks her if its working for her. No, not really. He then leads her across the stage…The bottom line is artificial sweeteners have absolutely no nutritional or biological business in your body AND they keep you craving sugars because your feeding it something it can’t really use so it want’s more. Stabilize your blood sugar levels and you won’t need soda of any kind.

You really don’t need it, and most of you know it. No secret here.

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