Recipe of the Weekl: Paleo Banana Bread Smoothie

Perfect for post work-outs, breakfasts on the go, or to satisfy your sweet tooth, this Paleo smoothie is inspired by one of my all time favorite indulgences: banana bread.

Paleo Detox Diet: Day 3 - Sympathy for the Devil

Temptation is the devil looking through the keyhole. 

Yielding is opening the door and inviting him in.

-Billy Sunday

The Sin, Enkel Dika

6:10 AM

I wake up before my alarm goes off to the gentle and soothing sound of birds chirping outside my window. I toss around for ten more minutes before rolling out of bed to stretch and get myself going. 

6:45 AM

Head outside hit up the apartment gym. Brrr - this freezing weather makes me wish I was back in bed, wrapped up in my big, fluffy comforter.

Once I reach the gym, I do a circuit of sprints, walking at 15% incline, and weight training for 25 minutes. 

Calories Burned: 200

7:15 AM

I feel surprisingly energetic and refreshed, considering the awful state I was in yesterday. This whole concept of AM work outs is starting to grow on me.

I realize that in my exhaustion-induced stupor last night, I forgot to prepare any food for today - no de-thawed/marinated meat or chopped veggies. On top of that, my roommates are both running around the kitchen, and jumping in the middle seems like jumping into a pack of lions all fighting over a piece of meat. I don't want to stress about being late, so I just quickly make my smoothie and pack some almond butter and decide to buy lunch today. Could be a horrible idea, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. 

Paleo Detox Diet: Day 2 - Sweet Nothing

Without a struggle, there can be no progress.

-Frederick Douglass

6:15 AM

The unwelcome sound of a rooster crowing jerks me out of pleasant sleep, and it takes me a second to recognize that it's just my phone's alarm. I feel exhausted, so I convince myself that five more minutes of sleep will be beneficial and hit Snooze. 

7:50 AM

I open my eyes and am greeted by bright sunlight. Unusual...

Then, the realization settles in that I hit Dismiss, not Snooze on my alarm - and now it's time to panic. 

Good Morning, Protein!

8:05 AM

After a quick shower, I hustle to get my meals together for the day - protein berry smoothie, celery and almond butter, strawberry & salmon salad, and deviled eggs from last night. I'm mad at myself for sleeping in and missing my AM workout, but I make a promise that I will make it up later. It's the least of my worries, since I'm so behind in schedule.

8:20 AM

Run out the door make-up free and hair up. Today will be one of those days where I just avoid mirrors (ignorance is bliss). 

Paleo Detox Diet: Day 1 - Rise & Shine

The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.

 - Mark Caine

6:15 AM
As my alarm goes off, my immediate reaction is...Nooooo. Curse you, Daylight Savings Time!

6:30 AM
Hit the treadmill at the gym in our apartment complex. Alternate between walking and jogging at varied inclines for 20 minutes. End with a 5 minute ab circuit. 
Calories Burned: 185

7:00 AM
Prep my lunch for the day. Grilled (using a stove-top grill pan) chicken breast over a bed of romaine, spinach, parsley, and chopped veggies. Cut up 2 stalks of celery and pack them with 1 tbsp. of crunch almond butter. 
Blend up berries, coconut water, and egg white protein powder and toss into a 16 oz. water bottle.

Paleo Detox Diet: Day 0 - Prepare to be Cleansed

Oh, New Orleans. There is no trouble that you won't find, no concept of day and night, and no vegetable that hasn't been battered and deep fried. Basically - Bourbon Street is like Disneyland for adults (and I loved it). But after a week of hurricanes, jambalaya, and good old fried chicken, I fell out of my workout regimen and continued to eat poorly, even after I'd returned to reality. With work being incredibly busy, I put little effort on getting back on track and felt myself getting lazier and lazier by the day (ignorance is bliss). And then came the dreaded moment - hopping on the scale for the first time in weeks. 

The shenanigans one can find on Bourbon Street....

Yikes - the scale revealed I am five pounds over my happy weight. Besides the weight gain, my body just doesn't feel as good as it should - I've been feeling bloated, lethargic, and mentally cloudy for a while now (basically...I feel like crap because I've been eating crap). On top of that, my skin has broken out and looks dull and ashy. There's no question about it: it's time for a detox to reset my life. 

For the next week, I'll be recording everything from my grocery list to my results, and every detail in between - how hungry I am, dealing with temptations, my recipes, etc. - so you can follow my progress (or lack thereof). 

Here's my Paleo Detox Plan...

Fit Tip of the Day: The Most Accurate Way to Calculate Calories Burned From Workouts

Struggling to lose those extra pounds and can't figure out why? It may be due to miscalculating the calories burned during your workouts. Here are the top five reasons you are getting it wrong, and how to more efficiently calculate calories to help you reach your weight loss goals. 

    Reason #1: Your Cardio Equipment Doesn't Know You    

This is where I have noticed the biggest failure in recording calories burned. Cardio equipment - treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, etc. - are going off of some vague factors when calculating the number of calories you've worked off. For those of us who like to create our own cardio circuits (i.e. simply hitting the "Quick Start" button and manually increasing speed, incline, or resistance), the equipment assumes you are 150 lb and returns its value based on that weight. If you weight more than that, you are burning more calories, and if you weigh less, you are burning fewer calories. Of course  there are options to enter in more information about yourself - height, weight, gender, and age. The problem is, the numbers are still inaccurate because the machine does not know your muscle to fat ratio, stride efficiency, or bone structure. Because no two bodies are the same, it is impossible to get an exact calculation and the resulting calculation of calories burned can vary from 15% to 20%. 

More reasons and helpful calculations after the jump!

Fit Tip of the Day: Kate Upton's Diet and Workout Plan for the Sports Illustrated Cover

Let's be real. It's incredibly annoying to read a quote from a celeb or model claiming that they eat "whatever they want" and workout by walking on the treadmill for half an hour everyday. While it great for a woman to be able to dine on Taco Bell and still be a size zero (erherm..Paris Hilton...), it's just not a realistic expectation for 99% of the population (sorry to all you optimists out there). So, its always refreshing to hear that a celeb has to work hard to look good - just like the rest of us do - by combining a rigorous dieting and exercise plan. For a perfect example, we'll break down the routine Kate Upton used to get fit for her sexy (and super revealing) Sports Illustrated cover.

Fit Tip of the Day: Olivia Wilde's Tron-tastic Workout

Getting Fit and Lean without Bulking Up with Muscle...

...It's every girl's worst nightmare. You work out 6 days a week, pack up on proteins and healthy foods, and...you gain weight. Common fact: muscle weighs more than fat. However, no girl wants to look bulky from getting in terrific shape. 

For Tron, the lovely Olivia Wilde had to get in fantastic shape for her role. However, that super tight leather suit was designed to fit her body like a glove, so she had to simultaneously gain muscle and lose fat in order to fit into her memorable threads. Celebrity Trainer Patrick Murphy shares her workout routine, via Self Magazine. 

Warm up with 5-10 minutes of cardio, then perform the below exercises as a circuit.

Celeb Fit Tip of the Day: Megan Fox's Workout

Megan Fox's Body

I had to do a Megan Fox post because I, personally, have a girl crush on her and she is one of today's hottest celebs. Megan is one of those naturally skinny girls we all love to hate, but her taught figure still requires a lot of work (I never believe celebs who claim to "never workout" and "eat whatever they want to"). Megan has been quoted to saying she doesn't eat, and that her toned stomach comes from lots of pilates. For Jennifer's Body, Megan admitted to basically starving herself, which worked for her but left her at an alarming 99 pounds. In order to get in proper shape for the Transformer's sequel, Megan had to train to get a fab figure with toned curves. Personally, I think she looks 100X better in Transformers than she did with a waif-like figure in Jennifer's Body (see pics below). Here's how to get a tight and toned body according to Megan's personal trainer, who whipped her into shape (as if she was ever out of shape) for Transformer's 2.

 

   Megan in   Jennifer's Body                          and..Transformers 2     

Megan Fox's Workout Routine

Workout  Courtesy of Bodybuilding.com

Begin your workout with ab strength training. What a lot of people don't realize is that it is much more beneficial to start with weight training prior to cardio (I used to always end workouts with ab circuits). Why is this method more effective? Because you are working to release fatty cells from your body, then burning them off by following up with interval cardio. Here is the routine: 

Celeb Fit Tip of the Day: Jennifer Lopez's Butt Booster

Jennifer Lopez has been known for the last decade for having a fabulous body, and it seems like recently, she's slimmed down even more. Jennifer keeps fat at bay by doing 90 minute yoga routines with celebrity yoga instructor Mark Blanchard, creator of The Sedona Experience DVD (who also trains another hot Jen..Jen Aniston!). Read more to see how you can get J-Lo's fabulous figure!

Calculating Your Ideal Weight

Here is all you need to know...

Determining your ideal body weight can be tricky. Everyone has a different frame, metabolism, and weight distribution. Not to mention the level of hormones that are constantly fluctuating, or how our bodies process certain foods and chemicals. I have a very distinct memory of sitting at the kitchen table, across from my sister, who casually snacked on a tray of assorted cheesecakes while I remorsefully nibbled on some carrots, mentally repeating the mantra, “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels, nothing tastes as good as skinny feels..” like I was Dorothy trying to get back to Kansas.

Sure, she was a few years younger than me, but when I was that age, I weighed 15 lbs more than I do now. If only there was some miracle diet where you could eat processed sugar all day long and exercise twice a month, then we would all be 105 lbs and fabulously thin. Am I bitter? Slightly. The reality blows. Because, in reality, even genetics can’t get you to your ideal weight. 

But what is your ideal weight? Why is it that some people look fabulous at 140 lbs and others look flabby at 120? It all depends on your frame, body fat composition, and muscle tone. I, for example, have a weight of 122 lbs which makes me sound like I am fab and skinny. However, because I have an extremely petite frame, my body fat composition is about 23%, which is considered pretty average by today’s standards. Healthy, but not fit and toned. For women, we must have less than 16% body fat to show any ab muscles. So if you’ve been wondering why all those crunches haven’t paid off, its because it takes a ridiculous amount of work for you to melt the fat off your belly. You know why? Because science has cursed women with the gift of getting pregnant. This means that our bodies like to store fat in that region to provide a little padding for when we are with child. Thanks biology! I really needed another constant reminder that my biological clock is ticking besides my mother’s sly, “How is your boyfriend?” comments (my response…”You mean that boy I went on one date with six months ago? It’s going well. We haven’t talked since I discovered he had a weird anime obsession”). Determining your body fat is the first step in finding out your ideal weight. Let me walk you through the process.