Nutrition Tips for Staying on Track When You’re Dating- Stacey Pena Review

Many people gain weight when they start dating because they will go out to eat more often and drink more often, especially when they are first dating someone. The weight gain doesn’t have to happen if you follow a few Nutrition Tips for Staying on Track When You’re Dating. Whether you order at restaurants or prepare meals at home, it is equally as important as how much you are consuming. You don’t want to be the person that is always ordering a house salad and water as an entrée. You also don’t want to just compromise your goals and order beer-battered fish, or deep fried Twinkies and destroy the balanced nutrition plan that keeps you healthy. To help keep you on point while starting your new path to love and a relationship, use these simple Nutrition Tips for Staying on Track When You’re Dating and you will be set.

NUTRITION TIPS FOR STAYING ON TRACK WHEN YOU’RE DATING

1. Ask How a Dish is Prepared: If the food is buttered, braised, creamed, or pan-fried, it most likely will not be the best choice. These meals are often packed with a high amount of sodium, saturated fat, or oxidized fat. Your best bet is to look for foods/meals that are baked, broiled, grilled, roasted, steamed, or poached.
2. Easy on the Condiments: Keeping Condiments in check will help keep your sodium levels down, plus some condiments are very high in fats. Condiments that are filled with sodium are ketchup, pickles, relish, sauerkraut, sauces like soy, steak, teriyaki, and honey mustard. Plus, extra sodium will have you retaining unwanted water weight. Condiments that are higher in fat are mayonnaise and dressings. Herbs, spices, vinegars, or lemon juice are healthier alternatives.
3. Plan ahead: Most restaurants post their menus online. Take a few minutes before you choose a restaurant to see what healthy dishes they offer before committing to a place. If they have healthier fare then you are good to go, or find a restaurant that has food you may be able to alter, to make it healthier. Most restaurants are pretty accommodating. 
4. Choose a Chain Restaurant: Though it may not be your favorite it can help. The Food and Drug Administration requires chain restaurants to list the calorie counts on their menus. 
5. If You Don’t Do Chains, then Choose a Local Restaurant: Independent or family-run restaurants often prefer to buy fresh, local products to help their food stand out from the competition. Menus that feature locally grown produce also give chefs the opportunity to create a wider variety of unique and healthy recipes centered around in-season ingredients. The same suggestions from above on food preparation apply.
6. Order Appetizers as your Meal: Appetizers offer smaller portions and can be healthy when they’re veggie-, seafood-, or chicken-based. For your starter, get a salad with a balsamic dressing on the side and ask for the salad to have no croutons, bacon, or cheese, and then have the appetizer brought to you as your entrée. You can also share a bunch of small plates with your date. Either way helps keep portions manageable, plus sharing can create a bit more intimacy. 

NUTRITION TIPS FOR STAYING ON TRACK WHEN YOU’RE DATING

7. Side Substitutions: Dump the Onion rings, French fries, mashed potatoes, and pasta. Swapping them for steamed veggies will bring your sodium, fat and calories down. If the restaurant offers no substitutions, then ask your server to leave the unhealthy foods off of your plate, and order the vegetables separately.
8. Skip the Beer: A typical beer has about 150 calories or more depending on the size you order. Gin or vodka, straight up or on the rocks, or red wine would be better options if you need to have an alcoholic beverage. Drink with moderation, too much alcohol can hinder muscle growth, lower testosterone, and pack on a lot of unwanted calories. 
9. Skip the Desert: Desert is a lot of unnecessary sugar, fat, and calories. If a desert is a must, then stick to a bite or two and share. Best advice is to skip it, or make it a choice between an alcoholic beverage or dessert for the night.
10. Cook at home: Offering to cook not only puts you in control of what goes on the plate and how it’s prepared, but it tells your date that you’re willing to put forth an effort to please them. Plus, it’s the perfect way to get the person into your home.

Dating can have its ups and downs, so you don’t need to add the ups and downs of your healthy habits to get in the way. Use these few Nutrition Tips for Staying on Track When You’re Dating and you will have fun with your dates because you won’t be worrying about your nutrition.

Foods to Improve Athletic Performance- Stacey Pena Review

Clean and smart supplementation can really boost performance and recovery. You can also find Foods to Improve Athletic Performance. Clean and smart food intake can also boost performance and recovery and aid in the supplements positive effects. Stock your pantry with these Foods to Improve Athletic Performance and you have additional secret weapons. 

FOODS TO IMPROVE ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE

Coffee: Drinking 16-24 ounces of coffee daily has shown to improve an athlete’s performance. Coffee is also a rich source of antioxidants.

Caffeine (whether you get it from coffee or tea) is an accepted component of the training and competition throughout the world. 

When it comes to caffeine, research has shown that you don’t need a lot. Low doses of caffeine (up to 2 per pound of lean body mass, or up to 200 mg) shows the most improvement on athletic performance. More than this can have the opposite effect on performance. This science is why Beachbody developed Energize as a part of their Performance Nutrition Line. 

Low doses of caffeine are not associated with the side effects of higher doses, such as jitters, nervousness, the inability to sleep, or gastrointestinal distress. Low doses of caffeine do not dehydrate users during exercise under normal conditions, and should be consumed 30 minutes prior to exercise for optimal performance enhancements.

Beets: Beets are a natural rich source of inorganic nitrate. Dietary nitrate is converted to nitrite, stored and circulated in the blood which is believed to enhance endurance performance by improving exercise efficiency. Recent studies have indicated that nitrates show promising effects on the cardiovascular and metabolic systems and functions. 

Turmeric: The greatest healthful component of turmeric is curcumin. Curcumin is a phytonutrient that is responsible for the yellow color. The effects of curcumin have been well investigated over recent years, but its efficacy as an anti-inflammatory has been known in Asia for centuries.

FOODS TO IMPROVE ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE

The Phytonutrients of curcumin possess anti-inflammatory properties. These anti-inflammatory properties include changes in cell signaling, particularly inhibition of certain pro-inflammatory pathways, which often impair performance. It has also been seen to reduce evidence of muscle damage, and be beneficial toward preventing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).

Pomegranates: Besides the fact that pomegranates are delicious, they are packed with phytonutrients, such as ellagitannins. Ellagitannins have been aided in reducing inflammation, recovery of muscle damage, reduced muscle weakness and soreness, and improvements in strength performance recovery following heavy resistance training. The benefits of pomegranates are documented in a study published in the Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

Apples: Apples are rich in phytochemicals and are a good source of quercetin, a flavanol that may benefit endurance performance and counter exercise-induced inflammation. Quercetin is an ergogenic aid that has shown to increase VO2 max, increase mitochondrial production in muscle tissue, and has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. So eat those apples but also look at Energize and Hydrate from the Beachbody Performance Line to capitalize on the benefits of quercetin.

We spend so much time focusing on foods for weight loss and general health, it sometimes slips our mind that food serves a third important purpose: fuel! There is no guarantee that your performance will be improved, but why not add Food to Improve Athletic Performance to your nutrition regimen, regardless of performance improvement they are simply beneficia

Tips to make creamy shakes- Stacey Pena Review

Most of us have tried making nutrition shakes that taste amazing and are creamy and smooth. Most often, however, we end up with shakes that are too watery, too icy, too thick, or too just not right. Let’s put an end to disappointing shakes. It is time to learn the Tips to Make Creamy Shakes.

TIPS TO MAKE CREAMY SHAKES

The first of the Tips to Make Creamy Shakes is to use a shake product that has no artificial ingredients. Artificial ingredients they tend to be grainier in texture than natural ingredients. Shakeology is one shake that provides a daily dose of nutrition but has no artificial ingredients so it makes a nice smooth shake, even when mixed with liquid by itself or with other ingredients.

The ingredients listed below are the key Tips to Make Creamy Shakes, plus they add more nutrition to your natural shake base.

• Use frozen fruit or vegetables. Frozen fruits or vegetables allow you to cut down on the ice. Ice waters down flavor and can create an undesirable texture. The best source of frozen fruits and vegetables is to buy fresh fruits and vegetables and freeze them yourself.

• Use fruits that are higher in soluble fiber. Soluble fiber dissolves in water and adds to shake thickness. Soluble fiber also keeps you fuller longer, helps lower the risk of heart disease, helps control blood glucose levels, helps reduce high cholesterol, and helps boost the body’s immune system. Some examples of high soluble fiber foods are apples, avocados, carrots, and pumpkins.

• Seeds and nuts. Chia is a real powerhouse seed. Chia has more antioxidant activity than blueberries and are a great source of plant-based omega-3 essential fatty acid, which plays a role in heart and artery wall health. Chia Seeds are also a complete protein with nine amino acids which can help digestion, blood sugar levels, energy levels, and more.  

TIPS TO MAKE CREAMY SHAKES

Nuts and seeds are a great way to make shakes creamy. To get the most benefit from your nuts and seeds you should soak them for a minimum of 10 minutes. Soaking increases your body’s ability to take in the nutrients and you don’t want to miss out on those healthy fats and additional nutrients that aid the cardiovascular system, metabolism, and help with weight management.

• Organic Nut Butters. Nut butters will make your shakes creamy and smooth. Buy organic nut butters that do not have added ingredients. The ingredient list should include only nuts. You could also make your own nut butter. Soak the nuts and grind them up in a food processor. If you want, you can add a ¼ teaspoon of coconut oil to make them even smoother.

• Coconut Flesh (Frozen or Fresh). Coconut flesh adds flavor, slightly sweetens, and significantly boosts the nutritional content of shakes. Coconut flesh is rich in iron, phosphorus and zinc plus it has a naturally high concentration of electrolytes and more potassium than a banana.

Not only will you have amazing smooth and creamy shakes, but you will have complete nutrition when you combine these Tips to Make Creamy Shakes with Shakeology. Enjoy!

Shakeology & Nurshing - Stacey Pena Review

Shakeology and Nursing

Moms often ask questions about Shakeology and nursing. Many times this question can come up because many new moms want to keep nursing their baby and they want to start losing weight.

Before we get too far into Shakeology and nursing, here are what a few medical professionals said about Shakeology and Nursing.

“Every pregnant woman should drink this. It has all the nutrition a pregnant woman needs. I wish all pregnant women would drink it.”

“It looks great to me,” after they reviewed the ingredients.

“As long as you get enough calories each day, you should be just fine to drink this. They have to put that notice on the back to cover themselves legally.”

“It looks awesome to me. I don’t see why not, look at what other moms are putting into their bodies and nursing.”

SHAKEOLOGY AND NURSING

Can you drink it while nursing?

You can… Though you can with some specific things to remember.

You must keep in mind that when nursing you typically need 300-500 more calories each day. You also need a lot more water. If you don’t get enough calories each day or enough water, your milk may dry up and/or you could have other issues that arise.

With that said Shakeology and Nursing can be of great benefit to you and your baby. Shakeology has no chemicals, preservatives, no artificial sweeteners, and no artificial flavors or colorings. Shakeology provides the highest quality ion-filtered whey protein in the original, and vegetable based protein in the vegan formula. It has high quality vitamins, minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, digestive enzymes, super-greens, super-fruits and so much more all derived from plants.

With over 70 of the most nutritious foods in the world, it is one of the most nutrient dense foods you could be eating and providing you and your baby.

Think about it… Are you willing to eat at restaurants and fast food places? If you said yes to that, then why would you have second thoughts about putting clean super foods into your body?

Shakeology is an INCREDIBLE tool for your health and the health of your baby. Plus it can help with postpartum weight loss. When the body is truly nourished and is able to heal from damage caused from childbirth and the other things we had done over the years.

Other wonderful benefits of Shakeology include increased energy, improved digestion, curbing cravings and appetite for junk foods and sweets, lowering cholesterol, improved mental clarity, and so much more. Drinking Shakeology also helps people to get more fruits and vegetables into the diet.

SHAKEOLOGY AND NURSINGWhat new mother wouldn’t want more ENERGY and MENTAL CLARITY?What new mother wouldn’t want amazing nutrition for themselves as well as their baby?What new mother doesn’t want to have the nutrition needed for their body to repair and help in losing postpartum weight?Shakeology and Nursing… You Decide!

What to do for Arthritis in the Knee- Stacey Pena Review

Many times as we age arthritis can build up in certain joints. The knee is one of the joints that is more susceptible to arthritis. The thing is what to do for Arthritis in the Knee can be as simple as making some simple changes. To make the simple changes you must understand some of the things that can make arthritis worse. Everyday habits such as gradual weight gain and lack of exercise. can actually make arthritis pain worse. Lifestyle choices could potentially do more harm to your aching knees and other painful joints than most realize.

What to do for arthritis in the knee can start with these few pain control habits that can help bring arthritis pain relief.

WHAT TO DO FOR ARTHRITIS IN THE KNEE

Control Weight Gain

When you are wondering what to do for arthritis in the knee, weight should be the first thing that comes to mind. Look at whether or not you have gained weight or are carrying more weight than your body was meant to handle. Aching knees are typically a direct response to weight gain. When you are overweight or obese, your joints are carrying that greater load, and this causes the wear and tear that characterizes osteoarthritis. To decrease pain, start with your weight.

Get Up and Get Moving

If your daily habit is to lounge around, you may be adding to your arthritis pain. Though this may sound counterintuitive to many, activity actually does the body some good. Don’t make aching knees or other joint pain an excuse for inactivity.

Though arthritis may make it a bit more difficult to get started on an exercise plan, it is so important. Starting out with non-impact type exercises can really make the difference. Some highly recommended programs for at home use are PiYo, Tai Cheng, and any of the P90X Series Yoga Programs. Once your pain begins to subside you want increase strength around the joint. 

Don’t Pass Up Healthy Fats

Healthy fats are important for everyone’s nutrition. Omega-3 fatty acids are very important when it comes to arthritis pain relief. This is definitely an important factor for what to do for arthritis in the knee.

WHAT TO DO FOR ARTHRITIS IN THE KNEE

It is recommended that your daily doses for Omega-3 fatty acids should be between 2,000 to 3,000 milligrams. Taking a high quality Omega supplement and eating foods such as salmon can help you achieve the recommended levels needed for arthritis pain relief.

Get Good Sleep

Sleep is important for overall health. Studies show that people who lack proper sleep report more pain and types of pain, including joint pain. 7-8 hours of sleep is optimal for overall health and to help alleviate pain.

Stamp Out Stress

Stress can play havoc on all areas of the body. The problem is, high levels of stress can actually make arthritis pain worse. If you are stressed, your overall physical tension can be greater, magnifying joint and muscle pain. So take a deep breath, and try to let all that stress go. Meditation, massage, and acupuncture are all good options to help relieve the pain and open up the joints and their range of motion.

Now that you know what to do for arthritis in the knee, you can start utilizing these suggestions and finding relief.

Diet or Exercise: Which is Better for Weight Loss?- Stacey Pena Review

Diet or Exercise: Which is Better for Weight Loss? The truth is you need both!

Only using exercise will definitely make it harder to lose inches and pounds. Can it be done? Sure, but it will happen very slowly and most likely won’t last. Only about 1% of people will keep weight off when they just use exercise.

If you only lose weight through diet you will end up skinny, but most likely still carry excess fat. Yep, without exercise your body retains fat. This is called being skinny fat and it’s often retained in the belly. In addition, people who only use nutrition for weight loss have about a 10% possibility of keeping the weight off.

So, if you’re wondering, Diet or Exercise: Which is Better for Weight Loss? The answer is truly both. Together they turbocharge your body. When you combine the two you also increase your chances up to 60% for keeping weight off.

DIET OR EXERCISE: WHICH IS BETTER FOR WEIGHT LOSS?

We can’t stress enough the importance of combining diet and exercise versus worrying about Diet or Exercise: Which is Better for Weight Loss. A Healthy Diet really means healthy, balanced, portioned, and clean nutrition and proper hydration.  When you are truly eating healthy your body will shed fat, gain muscle, and maintain a healthy weight. What you put in your body is your diet. Your healthy diet should include whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, lean proteins, and lots of water. A diet that includes all food groups is healthy nutrition!

Important Aspects of a Healthy Diet:

• You’ll be Happier and More Productive

Your diet has a huge impact on how you feel. Eating the right foods including complex carbohydrates, and foods rich in iron and high in omega-3 can increase serotonin and energy levels. This is why Shakeology can have such a huge impact on energy levels, because it contains that exact combination of foods. Research has also revealed nutrition that has low omega-3 levels, too little iron, and high amounts of sugar and simple carbohydrates may be correlated with depression.

• Your Digestive System Will Run Better

When you provide your body with fruits and vegetables you’ll have the proper fiber intake which will aid the digestive tract. Couple that with proper hydration and your digestion will be happy.  When you are eat a healthy diet, your digestive tract runs like clockwork and when it runs like clockwork this will aid in weight loss and muscle gain. For those who are not big on fruits and vegetables, then you need to look at Shakeology.

• You’ll Get to a Healthy Weight

No matter how much you work out, you cannot work out enough to beat poor nutrition. When you see people who workout every day and their bodies are still the same, the cause is poor nutrition. Poor meals or too many drinks can undo the positive effects of exercise.

DIET OR EXERCISE: WHICH IS BETTER FOR WEIGHT LOSS?

Important Aspects of Regular Exercise:

• You need to exercise.

Whether you are at your goal weight or not, you need to exercise 5-6 days per week. The best programs include both cardiovascular (aerobic and anaerobic exercise) as well as resistance training (weight lifting). The best and most efficient way to make sure that you are getting the proper amounts of each exercise is to use Beachbody Programs like 21 Day Fix, P90X, and others. Check out Beachbody On-Demand for free to see all the different programs that you can use to get the right exercise. As humans we are made to move. If we don’t move we fall apart. I am sure you have heard “if you don’t use it, you lose it”. This is true when applied to exercise!

• Less Stress and Greater Happiness.

Exercise has been shown to reduce the amount of the stress hormones in the body and boost serotonin levels. When this happens we are happier.

• Improved Sleep

Better Sleep equals better recovery. When at rest the body recovers, muscles heal, and performance-enhancing hormones are released. The body’s leptin levels recover. When this hormone is at proper levels it makes it easier to make better food choices.

• Helps with Weight Loss and Muscle Gains (Toning and Bulking)

Exercise burns calories. When you are creating a greater deficit in calories you will lose weight. Exercise can also helps you gain muscle. The more muscle you have the more calories you will burn during and after exercise.

Diet or Exercise: Which is Better for Weight Loss? By now you should see the greatest benefit comes when you eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly. Combining the two is a must. Numerous studies show the synergistic effects of combining exercise and with a healthy. When this is done, 1 + 1 = 10!

If you are not sure how to put this all together, you can obtain a FREE Coach to help you get started.

An Easy Diet to Get You Started!- Stacey Pena Review

Transition diets are the best Easy Diet to start your journey to better health and be a healthier eater. Of course when we say Easy Diet, what we really mean is a nutrition plan that is easy to implement and sets you up for a healthy eating lifestyle. The biggest goal when starting is to create a plan that has includes more natural, whole foods and less junk.  

That first step itself constitutes an Easy Diet. Why is this…? Because there are no secrets to healthy eating. Healthy nutrition is simply understanding that eating healthy means you have to minimize junk food. If 90% of your nutrition is real food (remember, the stuff nature makes?) your body will respond and your exercise efforts will pay off with better results.

AN EASY DIET TO GET YOU STARTED!

Take 2-4 weeks to start implementing some mainstays that are necessary for balanced nutrition. After you clean out the junk it is time to focus on what you can eat, rather than what you can’t eat. You will find that this list is a lot to chow down on. Small changes make healthy eating pretty easy and his is the best way to get ready for a new nutrition plan and exercise program.

EASY DIET WEEK 1 – ELIMINATE, CHEAT DAYS, AND FOCUS

• Cheat Days: Since no one’s perfect, you get two days during this week to cheat. Yep, eat anything you want! Be sure to listen to your body, it will tell you it wants everything that you have cut out and over time how you feel is a great indicator of what nutrients you are deficient in, rather than a cue to eat junk. Listen to your body. Example: Craving ice cream, you may be short on essential fatty acids. Craving a hamburger, your nutrition may lack protein. Listen to your body and learn what it really needs and then choose food items that can really give it those nutrients, versus giving into the junk like ice cream or hamburgers. Being in tune with your body is a lifestyle benefit that will pay off for the rest of your life.

• Eliminate: No junk. Eliminate junk food from your diet. That’s it, just junk. The definition of junk is obvious stuff, like potato chips, candy, ice cream, cake, and other salt- and sugar-loaded foods.

• Focus: After you rid the junk, focus on the fact that in week one you can eat whatever and whenever you like. Also don’t forget to focus on water, 8-10 eight ounce glasses of water per day, or even better focus on a gallon. As much as 65-75% of us walk around dehydrated. Once you are hydrated you will notice changes in your body and how it craves food. Another focus should be on minimizing or eliminating other drinks such as juice, sodas (obviously), and alcohol.

AN EASY DIET TO GET YOU STARTED!

EASY DIET WEEK 2 – NO JUNK AND PROPER PORTIONS, CHEAT MEALS, AND FOCUS

• Yes still “no junk” and learning proper portion sizes. Remember that this is a process, and things need to be done over and over again for it to become a part of your life.Eat proper portions of food, and eat more often. Eat every 3-4 hours and try not to eat anything about two hours before you go to sleep. This helps keep your blood sugar levels more static and your energy level more consistent. The basic recommended times to eat are Breakfast, Mid-Morning Snack, Lunch, Mid-Afternoon Snack, and Dinner. Learn proper portions such as – ½ cup of high fiber grains, 1 cup of vegetables, 1 cup of fruit, 3-4 ounces of lean meat, and ¼ cup of healthy fats. Sticking to these portions and the proper numbers of each portion per day will keep your metabolism firing on all cylinders.

• Cheat Meals: Yes your full Cheat Days from week one are now Cheat Meals. You can have two Cheat Meals per week. You will notice that having an entire day to cheat is not necessary. Though you may be tempted may happen every now and again, you will see it is not necessary to cheat more often. When cravings come, you will find that having one cheat meal generally suffices. Plus more times than not, cravings are more mental than physical. Gradually decreasing your cheat meals and knowing it’s mostly in your head helps break those mental habits.

• Focus: Carbs are not the enemy. Your body needs them, just like it needs proteins and fats. The key is choosing the right style carbs. As a society, we eat too much refined sugar. Complex grain carbs, like whole-grain breads, whole-grain rice, sweet potatoes, and legumes are great choices. Keep in mind that vegetables and fruits are carbs as well. The right carbohydrates will maximize your body’s ability to function properly and participate in exercise and other daily activities.

EASY DIET WEEK 3 – SAME FOCUS, MORE VARIETY, AND SUPPLEMENTATION

• Focus: Stick to No Junk and Cheat Meals on two different days per week.

• Have more variety, eat more colorful foods, and try foods you have never had before. Try recipes that are easy to make and provide balanced nutrition. For great recipes be sure to check out the Fixate Cookbook by celebrity trainer Autumn Calabrese. Remember the richer the colors, the fresher the products tend to be. Try to eat a variety of colors in your diet. Be sure to have a variety of all food types, including proteins, grains, vegetables, and fruits. Be sure to vary meal as well. You don’t want your meals to be too heavy in one nutrient or another. Balance matters!

• Total Nutrition Supplementation: Starting to implement total nutritional supplements that are clean and artificial ingredient free is very important. This helps your body do a better job of utilizing the nutrients from the foods you are eat, provides the nutrients you cannot get from food sources, and may help with many other aspects of your body function and efficiency. Shakeology and its Shakeology Boosts are some of the best and cleanest total nutrition supplements you can add to your diet.

Taking time to transition and use these easy diet suggestions to get started will make other changes a lot easier along the way. Following the steps of a process you are more likely to succeed than just random efforts. Start here and you will find getting into your nutrition and exercise plan will be easier and results will happen sooner!