Leona and I decided to challenge ourselves by buying a package of 5 boot camp sessions on Living Social (one of our favorite online deal finders in the Los Angeles area.)  At an incredible low price of $25 we decided we had nothing to lose but body fat.

When I contacted Adrian at West Coast Boot Camp to schedule our first class he informed me that there was a nutrition consultation included in the package.  To be honest I initially declined the offer thinking that we were both pretty dialed in with our diets and I wasn’t thrilled about making a drive out to La Canada.  On second thought, in the name of research for Adventures in Fitness and getting the complete experience, I called him back and scheduled an appointment with Dr. Joe Ferrara PhD for the following Saturday.

I was pleasantly surprised with the consultation experience and so happy that I changed my mind.

Click here to read on . . .

He is nice enough to supply his fridge with “My” creamer which is Coffee Mate Vanilla flavored.  I have read the ingredients and I know it is terrible for you.  Ingredients include: Water, sugar, partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil, sodium castenate, dipotassium phosphate, color added, natural and artificial flavors, sodium stearoyl lactylate, mono and diglycerides, polysorbate 60, carrageenan, beta-carotene color.  Hmmm tasty!

So what are some alternatives?  I came across this article that highlights some different options.

What’s In Your Coffee Creamer?

Another great article I found has a recipe for Homemade Coffee Mate. I think I’ll have to try that one as I am definitely not ready to drink black coffee.

Check out my new post on Adventures in Fitness LA where I join friends on a night hike into Topanga State Park.

Here is an excerpt or click here for the full article:

My colleague Dave Cantarella suggested I join he and his friend, Steve, on a night hike in Santa Monica.  My reply was, “Sure!  Will you keep the bats out of my hair?”  He upped the ante by saying,  “Yes and the Mountain Lions too.”  Ahhh that’s a relief.

Since I am prepping for my cleanse program, doing something fun and healthy on a Saturday night seemed to fit. I packed my water and “fizzy tab” for a little late night energy and chose to wear long pants in case it got cool (okay . . . really it was to keep any critters from crawling up my legs.)  We agreed to meet at 7:30pm to begin our hike.

The rest of the 200 page text is a great collection of recipes for everything from muffins to entrees to teas.

One concept that really stood out to me is how simple carbs can raise cholesterol.  Here is an excerpt from the text,

“Simple carbohydrates raise blood sugar levels quickly and cause the body to increase insulin production, which triggers cholesterol synthesis.  Therefore, increased insulin output caused by excessive amounts of sugar in the diet increases cholesterol levels, as well as promoting fat production and fat storage.  Simply put, simply carbohydrates exacerbate diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol and poor lipid profiles.”

If you are considering the Embody Fitness Cleanse Challenge and want to understand more of the science behind it then check out the book.

There’s a new post on Working out with Yours Truly on my other site, www.AdventuresinFitnessLA.com.   Here’s an excerpt, and if you want to read the whole thing, you can click HERE.

Does this look different? I know it does, but it’s hard for me to see sometimes.

You see, about a year ago, I decided that I needed to get in shape. I’d been sitting down for about a year, writing my master’s thesis and then working a corporate desk job, and I’d been eating terribly for more than a year. I’d been back in Orange County for a few months, and I decided that I wasn’t taking the necessary initiative to get myself in shape, and that I needed help and guidance. It occurred to me that my old friend Kendra might be willing to work with me, so I called her out of the blue to ask if she could help me– and she said yes.

Fifteen months after our first session, and I’ve dropped three sizes (I’m a 12 on the right, and I’m a 6 now), revitalized my career and my life in general, and I feel like I’ve still got room to improve in my overall health and fitness– which feels great.

While on Irvine Avenue 3 1/2 years ago I was rear-ended by an SUV.  When I got to Newport Workout immediately after for work I felt pain in my left hip joint.  The pain went away the next day and I went on with my life which consisted of dancing professionally and being a trainer.  Six months later, during a performance, the strain of my hip flexor had progressed to the point where I was in tears walking down the hallway to get on stage.   I had to leave in the middle of the show and I wouldn’t get back on stage for another year.

That year consisted of a mix of Chiropractic, massage, Electrical Stimulation Therapy, Physical Therapy, Trigger Point Therapy, anti-inflammatory diet, nutritional supplements, stretching, strengthening, and bags and bags of ice.  Phew!  In hindsight, that is A LOT and it was expensive. (For those who know anatomy, it specifically was my Sartorius and Rectus Femoris tendon.)

Tonight when I left the Cardio Kickbox class it was because I felt my hip flexor had had enough after 45 minutes and anything more could leave me in pain.  Needless to say I have developed a fear around pushing the tendons too far.  The good news is that now when I feel fatigue in the flexors the pain goes away immediately or by the next day which I have learned is a healthy sign.

So after ALLLL that . . . here is what I would do if (heaven forbid) it happened again.

• Start the anti-inflammatory diet immediately. It took me a year to find out about it and another year to really become educated on how and why.  I am so sold on the idea that I now base my Cleanse Program on that diet.
• Use Trigger Point Therapy tools. The little ball and rollers are what I still go to when I feel any tightness.  If  I know it’s going to be a challenging activity I work the knots out before I workout.
• Rest.  Dancing on the injury while it slowly progressed was not smart.
• Stay symmetrical. I spent so much time stretching and massaging my left side that now my right side is tighter.  Oops.
• Never settle until you’re healed. The measly few thousands I got from the SUV’s insurance company didn’t touch what I spent in recovery and in lost work wages.

Hopefully you never have to use these tips but if you do you will shorten your recovery time significantly.  Here’s to staying healthy and strong!

Diner owner learns to trim the fat | pounds, parker, people – Life – The Orange County Register.

My partner Leona Laurie has been helping me with the Embody Fitness site since last year.  When I moved to Los Angeles, I started writing about my fitness experiences as I explored my new city.  Leona came to me with the idea of creating a new site that focused just on those specific adventures.  Since she is moving to Downtown Los Angeles in a couple of weeks, we make the perfect team to explore together and create a resource of fitness activity information in Southern California.  And that is how AdventuresInFitnessLA.com was born.

Our weekly blogging schedule goes as follows:

• Monday – My fitness adventure for the week
• Tuesday – Leona’s fitness adventure
• Wednesday – Nutrition topic
• Thursday – Guest blogger or fitness profile of a featured fitness enthusiast
• Friday – 5 tips on various topics

We just finished our first week and our thrilled with our progress and the feedback we have received already.  Check out the new site and let me know what you think.  What topics are you interested in learning about?  What activity have you heard of in the greater Los Angeles area that we should check out?

I’ll keep you posted on our progress!

I have had shin splints since I was on dance team at the University of San Francisco.  I developed plantar fasciitis while rehearsing for a dance production several years ago.  I spent 2.5 years recovering from a hip flexor injury and have been pain free for a year now.  These are the excuses and fears that have kept me from running.  Although these are all good reasons to stay away from running I know that if I train correctly and get proper instruction I should be able to run a couple of miles without any problem.

Last week during my training session with Garry I had him take a look at my stride on the treadmill.  He had me do this after a grueling 50 minute workout and I had to laugh because not only was I not sure I could actually keep moving by that point I knew that I had no idea how to “stride” in the first place.  He had me switch from my initial heel strike (rolling through heel to toe) to running on the balls of my feet.  He also told me that I was making a common mistake of striking the ground right underneath me and I should be hitting the ground in front of me.  Hmmmm okay I’ll try.

Randomly a few days later I was browsing for music podcasts on iTunes.  I stumbled across a “Couch to 5K” running program that I could put on my iPod.  The 9 week program which was created by Cool Running.com takes you through a run/walk interval training to get you up to running a full 5K.  Robert Ullrey created this podcast set to great music and he coaches you through the timing of the run.

With no real pre-meditation I woke up this morning and decided it was a good morning to start since I had a bit of chocolate to burn off from the night before.  I drank a glass of water, ate half a Larabar, updated my iPod with the first week of the podcast and walked out my apartment door.  Should I drive somewhere?  Is it flat enough around my neighborhood?  Could I really do this for 30 minutes?  No real time for answers I just pushed play and did what Robert instructed me to do.  The 30 minute workout consisted of a 5 minute walk followed by 8 intervals of 60 seconds running and 90 seconds walking and a 5 minute cool-down walk.

This nice and easy run gave me time and energy to focus on the things I had learned about my stride.  I found it difficult to consistently run on the balls of my feet.  Oddly enough I was better at it on my right foot than my left.  This created a little strain on the left side of my low back but I was aware of what was happening and did my best to make my stride more symmetrical.  By the last few run/walk intervals I had broken a nice sweat and was satisfied that I was getting a good workout even though I was on the beginner level of the running program.

I give two thumbs up for the podcast and plan on following the program of doing 3 runs per week and then downloading the podcast for each week through week 9.  Did I just say that out loud?  Does that mean my goal is to do a 5K?  I can’t think about it or else I might break out into hives.

I knew Marty would find success with the cleanse so I wanted to help him find a way to make it happen that was reasonable for him.  He had back surgery months before and was just getting into his workout routine.  Fighting inflammation at this stage is key for his progress.

The agreed upon duration was 14 days.  Marty selected a time period that set him up for success – no major parties, no foreseen work crisis, etc.

I helped him get set-up with the additional Arbonne supplements he needed including the SeaSource Detox Spa 7-Day Body Cleanse. The marine botanicals infused in this concentrated dietary supplement stimulate, strengthen and support health by assisting with gentle elimination and flushing out excess fluids.  Milk thistle helps to protect and improve the function of the liver by detoxifying metabolic waste.  Marine botanicals provide beneficial vitamins, minerals and antioxidant support to protect cells from the harmful effects of free radicals.

I kept in close contact with Marty over the course of the program and found that once the first few days passed he was able to handle the dietary restrictions in stride.  On day two he sent me a text saying, “Why does this diet make me feel bloated?”  I had experienced the same things during my cleanse and learned that it is from the fiber supplement that you add to the protein powder.  Apparently is takes the body a day or two to figure out how to get things moving but once it does . . . . it’s alllll good. 

As his two week program came to a close I got confirmation of his success via text first, “Lost 8 pounds and feel awesome!  You are the greatest.”  Well . . . what can I say.

As I predicted, Marty is so pumped on his progress that his goal is to continue sticking as close to the diet and supplement regimen in the weeks and months to come.  “The fizzy tabs give me way more energy than coffee does in the morning,” he declared this morning.

I look forward to getting more and more positive feedback from this anti-inflammatory, cleanse program.  The proof is in the pudding . . .  errr the gluten free rice pudding I guess . . .!