healthy and beautiful

Most people watching yesterday’s final round of the British Open were likely focused on who would win the Claret Jug (or is it mug). I watched, and although it was as exciting as golf can be, I wasn’t fixated on the jug/mug. Two topics were more interesting to me. The first was that these athletes breaking records and duking it out were both in their forties. And second, Phil trimmed down. It turns out Phil has gone Paleo and upped his fitness game and, as a result, he’s dropped 25-ish pounds (over 2 stones). I’m not sure that Phil got the idea from Lebron. It’s not as though Lebron started the paleo diet but of course “Phil lost weight following the Lebron diet” was a headline I came across more than once. Lebron was hardcore paleo for 67 days. This means their diets consisted of fruit, vegetables, protein, nuts and limited carbs (no dairy, no grains/gluten/sugar). For me, it’s one thing for average people to pursue paleo but quite a shift from old-school “carbing up” for athletes to...

  I try to be in the know when it comes to nutrition trends and I’ll freely admit I had no idea “teatoxing” was such a thing. Snobessentials (love that name) asked me to weigh in on this trend. So, what is a teatox? Teatoxes are generally teas sold in sets with both a daytime and a nighttime tea. The names of these products are pretty amusing: Showgirl Slim, Skinny Bunny, Naked me, Strip Teas (above). The daytime teas tend to contain some sort of upper and debloating spices. In the night version there’s a laxative ingredient and usually something sleep inducing.   On some websites, it was difficult to locate the ingredients. If ingredients are hard to find it’s never a good sign Is teatoxing healthy? Tea is healthy and teas are a big part of our programs at Foodtrainers. What is questionable is the notion that tea alone will result in your body looking like the bikini-clad (if that) women on the teatox websites. There are also a few ingredients in these teas that are no-nos ev...

Expo West is the capstone of natural food shows. Carolyn and I love a challenge and decided we could cover this massive event in one day. Before every one of these expos we make a pact not to oversample. Let’s just say that at 9am, when Carolyn found me, I had gluten free pizza in one hand and bone broth in the other. The treat train had left the station and mild reflux was already setting in. But how can I know whether to recommend something without tasting it? By midafternoon we had reached our threshold. At this point, we’d jerkey-ed, dark chocolated, posed for the embarrassing photo du jour and walked over 10 miles (20K steps).  A booth with props? We're always  in. We just wanted to be finished. It’s mile 25 of the marathon and the high five supply is exhausted. As we entered an area with newer products, we saw the Fire Cider booth. We know and love the original Fire Cider but as we shuffled by the booth we heard the word unsweetened. Original Fire Cider is sweetened and...

We had our first taste of summer yesterday with 80-degree weather in NYC. We also sent our April newsletter featuring some new Foodtrainers’ favorite products . Snickerdoodle almond butter sound interesting? In the newsletter, we announced our May Pre-Summer Squeeze Program These programs have been an unexpected hit. We pride ourselves on providing reasonable, doable, livable advice. What we’ve found is that while that works week in and week out there is a time for a push. And there has to be something better than a juice cleanse. After our most recent program, we asked participants for words to describe how they felt. They said: “virtuous, healthy and slim” “disciplined, energized, proud” “in control, leaner and lighter” “empowered, more in tune with myself” “back on track” “much, much better” We are offering two 10-day Squeeze sessions this May. You don’t have to be in NYC as it’s all email based May 9 th -18 th  Carolyn will Squeeze you May 16 th -24 th lauren will Squeeze you I...

Every New Year, people do make several resolutions such as studying for a higher degree, investing, dressing better, spending money wisely and lastly losing weight. While it is important to ensure that one is leading a healthy lifestyle, majority of people who make a resolution about losing weight never get to do so. First of all, as a working individual, your busy schedule get in the way which ultimately contributes to excuse after excuse why you cannot attend a gym. Furthermore, the resolution was a private decision . Therefore, it can be hard to find a friend who will be there for you and you for him or her. The best thing about technology is that it has eased the way people do certain things. This year, you can finally lose weight even though you attend the gym alone. You no longer have to come up with excuses thanks to a simple concept….selfies. Can selfies really help to turn an obese individual into a super motivated, super healthy, capable and enlightened individual? Acts as a ...

It’s hard enough to walk the healthy walk with our own “stuff”. Our sleep, work stress, family life, hormones and cravings are obstacles on any given day. But so are other people and sometimes it’s not even the people closest to you. We spend a lot of time at work and coworkers can affect your behavior. In the Little Book of Thin I talked about the candy bowl person.   There’s usually one candy bowl person per workplace but there’s another type of office offender. A few weeks ago, I opened the door from my office to our waiting room. A client* sat on the white couch with an It’s Sugar shopping bag next to her. She noticed that I noticed and said, “It’s not for me” and stood to come into my office.   I had to ask, “So who is it for?” “It’s for someone at work, she loves Reese’s” my client said and proceeded to pull out a package of peanut butter cups the size of a shoebox (a shoebox lid). We joked a little, she told me to take a photo for Instagram (I passed not knowing it wou...

So here’s the deal. At Foodtrainers we love our “ secretweapons ”. These are those little extras that can give you the wellness or weight loss edge provided YOU HAVE YOUR BASIC BEHAVIORS IN ORDER. Our vetting process goes something like this: We hear about a product/spice/tea etc, We look at the research that exists and any safety concerns We p ersonally “test drive” Then, if we feel something is helpful (for bloat or appetite or fatigue) and there’s some decent research (and no safety concerns) we’re sold. What I’m trying to say is that there are studies on turmeric and matcha and the two secret weapons I’m discussing this week (another tomorrow) but I’m not going to swear on my Boston Terrier that these are double-blind, placebo controlled 5-star, top-shelf, will impress a researcher studies you got it? Don’t email me about sample sizes. Peppermint Oil Hopefully the peppermint bark is long gone, for January enter peppermint oil . There’s some interesting theories about aroma therapy ...

We are all hypocrites. I realize that’s not the most motivational sentence to start the year but it’s true. My ears perked up with I heard Oprah’s soothing voice seemingly honestly recounting her weight struggles. “You look in mirror and you don’t even recognize yourself”. The press said that people were in tears over this narrative. In another TV spot she says, and I paraphrase, it’s not about a pair of pants but I want my best body (I’m confused, doesn’t the “best body” feel good in our pants?). I love O but she alludes to weight being about underlying issues and then the Weight Watcher’s logo pops up. Weight Watchers is about counting and points.   And if we’re talking numbers let’s just say that Oprah's "numbers" or should I say bottom line improved from this deal (and  stock purchase )* Then there’s Bon Appetit’s pretty January “healthy-ish” cover. Props to Bon Appetit for their health-conscious issue but “healthy-ish” reminds me of my most hated wellness phrase “eve...

this wasn't backward (squatty) when we were filming I'll write about recipes and books another day. Today I have our latest embarrassing Youtube video . I don't even know if it's embarassing because we like tackling touchy topics. And "going" is something we're asked a lot about. Going matters. I know more about nutrition than taking screenshots . In this video, we introduce five of our top 10 foods that help "make shit happen" (I can't help myself this is bringing out my inner six year old). For the other five? You have to sign up for our January Whipping Weeks. Spaces still remain. For more information and to start 2016 on track, email info@foodtrainers.net with Whipping Week in the subject line. What are your go to "go" foods? Any topics you want us to cover?

Last week I received multiple emails entitled “cheese is crack” referring to an LA Times article .   Yeah, yeah I thought as I clicked through, I could’ve told you that. Cheese is my dietary kryptonite. What I didn’t know was this: “Casomorphins attach to the brain’s opiate receptors to cause a calming effect in much the same way heroin and morphine do," said Barnard.  And since cheese has a concentrated content of casomorphins, Barnard suggested it may be called dairy crack. While many associate sugar with a drug-like or addictive response, I thought cheese lovers were simply eating cheese because it’s the most delicious food in the universe. I am not sure if this notion of “calming cheese” makes me want to eat more or less of it but it makes sense to me. When cheese is in my life or kitchen, it’s hard to see it in my refrigerator drawer and pass it up. Fortunately, having not been to the Farmer’s market this week, I am cheese free. Fingers crossed no casomorph withdrawal. No...