Tag Archives: healthy lifestyle

Hamstring-Glutes and Core Workout

I must confess, I had been practicing a little bit of yoga, cardio and not enough strength training. For me, not enough physical exercise got me feeling some muscle, bone and joint ache. Not to say yoga does not strengthen the body or that some cardio is not good enough, but with all the stress I had been placing on to myself following my move back home, lack of strength training was not helping me in staying strong. I had lost a lot of my motivation in my personal practice and came close to giving up. Through contemplation, meditation and prayers my mind, my spirit and my heart would not allow me to fail. I may have felt weak, fragile, betrayed and may have cried but, deep down in my heart I knew I would pick myself back up because I am stronger than that. I have acknowledged and accepted my weaknesses in order to face my fears and remove all obstacles in my life. Also, I had not been  active with my blog because I have been blessed catching up with new business and lots of work. I finally feel relaxed enough to sit down and journal down all of my exercises and meal intakes.  The good news is, I would push myself two days in the week to practice some yoga and some cardio exercises in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Where does this all leave me? That’s right, in a beginner to intermediate level in my fitness practice. But that’s okay. As a fitness enthusiast, I can accept this and blossom once again.

Yesterday, I focused more on hamstrings, glutes and hip abductors since I only had an hour and a half to workout. I enjoyed this routine a lot because it got my heart rate pumping and left me feeling good. I’m a little late posting yesterday’s workout but I feel better posting something than nothing. It is my motivation to share with you and a good way for me to remain accountable with a healthy lifestyle.

So here I am back in the grind building this body back strong. Feel free to try this routine next time you go to the gym. You can always modify the intensity and/or the weight and repetitions to your fitness level. Enjoy 🙂 Continue reading

Which Juicer should I get?

Great question!!! Lets bear in mind how juicing requires a lot of time, discipline and dedication. Therefore, we want to invest on a juicer that’s going to be beneficial for your time and life long commitment.

I am often exposed to many feedback from clients who have never juiced before saying juicing takes too much time. Yes it does. Let me start by pointing out Laziness leads to disease. Eventually, you will suffer the consequences if you are not taking the time to improve or maintain your health, . If you find yourself complaining about the time spent juicing I suggest you begin changing your attitude immediately.

Now let’s find the right Juicer for you!

First, lets look at the two most common types of Juicers available in the market. Masticating and Centrifugal. Today, I will only demonstrate and recommend your choices for Juicers. Later, in another post I will recommend Blenders. At any time, click on the hyperlink to the juicer of your choice to be directed to their website.

Masticating Juicers help by extracting the highest nutritional value from ingredients packing the juice with lots of flavor, vitamins and nutrients.

The name masticating juicer signifies the process used. These juicers use augers that grind, mash and chew through fruits and vegetables to squeeze every last drop of juice out separating it from the dry pulp. These juicers are slower than centrifugal juicers but are twice as efficient and effective having the ability to chew through greens, soft vegetables and fruits without any discrimination.

Breville BJS600XLI recommend Breville BJS600XL Fountain Crush Slow Juicer for $247.80. It’s sleek, stylish and yields a high amount of juice from soft veggies, fruits and leafy greens. It sells at a reasonable median price which leaves you confident you are not buying a cheap product. It’s a great masticating juicer overall and a smart investment for your health.

 

Omegavrt400For a wider feed chute I recommend Omega VRT400HDS Juicer for $352.00 (prices may vary). It’s double the price of the Breville BJS600XL, also compact and it’s the one I own. I use it a lot. It does great extracting but often times I find my vegetables getting stuck and no longer juicing smoothly. So I have to stop and remove the unprocessed veggies or celery threads.  Do keep in mind I juice a large amount of hard vegetables per session. I personally don’t mind the time and cleaning.

Omega VRT350 is one model older than this one at $379.99 (prices my vary). My personal opinion based on friends who have had it, they’re pretty similar  to one another.

Centrifugal Juicers are quick, versatile and moderately efficient, a centrifugal juicer is also the most commonly available type of juicer in retail stores. They work by pushing fruits and veggies down a feed chute, pulverizing it using cutting blades spinning at high speeds against a metal strainer. The name centrifugal juicer comes from the force that is generated by the blade’s spinning motion, which separates juice from the pulp.

These juicers are quick, easy to use, inexpensive and helps cut down preparation time. However, they are not the best for processing grasses, herbs, sprouts, leafy greens since they yield less juice. Moreover, the high RPM destroys some of the beneficial enzymes, which causes foaming. Nevertheless, these juicers are quite popular as they provide homemakers a chance to enjoy fresh juice at anytime.

Breville 800JEXL Juice Fountain EliteFor Centrifugal Juicers I recommend Breville 800JEXL Juice Fountain Elite 1000-Watt Juice Extractor for $292.87. This is one typically used at Organic Juice Bars. It’s quick, powerful yet has the ability to slow down for softer fruits and veggies. It’s not as compact as the Breville BJS600XL therefore, it will take up more counter space. Keep in mind the higher the Watt the more electricity you will use.

I think of time and speed this way, if you have a faster juicer you will take less time. If you have a slower juicer it will take you a longer time. At the end of the day, you’ve used up the same amount of electricity in the time difference between the two! So choose based on your highest priority.

Breville Juice Fountain CompactThe second Centrifugal Juicer I strongly recommend is the Breville BJE200XL Compact Juice Fountain 700-Watt Juice Extractor. It is the most economical juicer at $99.95 yet highly recommended and it includes a bonus DVD.  Although it’s an older model, it will get the job done and it’s a great value for beginners. Best feature is that it provides a 3 inch wide feed chute for less cutting and labor. It’s also not as big so it may conserve some counter space. When I used a juicer very similar to this one, I honestly had no problem with it. My bold hairline started growing back and I felt more vibrant and healthier than ever before.

Indeed Breville and Omega both stand at the top of quality juicers in the market. Good luck choosing the right juicier for your healthy journey. Always spend time reading other people’s review before making a final decision.  As a health expert, these are the few juicers I strongly recommend. Let me know your feedback after you have purchased your new juicer and started experimenting with new recipes. In a few weeks, I will begin to post a few recipes of my own to share with you.

Almond Berry-Mix Smoothie with Greens

Almond Berry-Mix Smoothie with Greens

Yesterday, during my bus ride back home from the city I sat next to a lady who happened to be coughing and blowing her nose. She was overweight and obviously a bit under the weather. At first, I didn’t worry much about her cough because I take very good care of my health eating fruits and veggies on a daily basis.  After a few minutes sitting beside her, I begin to worry because she continues to cough non-stop.  I offered her a napkin so that she would cover her mouth instead of turning her head and continue to cough with her mouth open.  She seemed very insulted replying with an attitude and not taking my napkin.  I wish I could have approached her a different way and have had an opportunity to give her some advice to help boost her immune system.  The only thing I could do at that moment was close my eyes and think “Antioxidants, Antioxidants, Antioxidants!” to keep me from catching a cold.  But then again I felt certain that based on my health I did not need to worry. Anyhow, this morning I woke up to these words yelling in my head “Berries, Antioxidants, Berries, Immune Booster”. I could have gone with my day ignoring these words in my head but I chose to run to the market and grab me some berries. Luckily, berries were each on sale for $2.39 except for the red raspberries which were sold out, so I had to get a case of organic raspberries for $4.99. Continue reading