testimonial-bubble-nutrition

Do I HAVE to eat if I’m not hungry?

Hi Ariane,
I wanted to ask you a nutrition-related questions. I know to keep our metabolism burning and to get into fat-burning mode, you need to eat 5 small meals a day (at least). But, what if you aren’t hungry or forget to eat?
My eating pattern is this:
I always have a Greens First Shake within an hour of waking (it’s the only green shake I like). I eat breakfast an hour later at work —  (usually an egg white whole wheat wrap with veggies and coffee) — and that keeps me full until my lunch time of 1230 or 1 PM.
My lunch is usually bigger than dinner as it’s my main meal of the day — for example, a sandwich (although not during boot camp when I am trying to be off sandwiches) or a turkey burger with mustard on greens with tomato.
I eat a snack around 3 or 4 — and in the past it’s been usually unhealthy: cookies, candy — JUNK — which I’m trying to eliminate.  My snacks this month have been hard boiled eggs, or a piece of fruit, or a snack pack of raw almonds.
And then I have dinner — which is usually lacking in any nutritional value and not huge since I don’t like going to bed feeling really full — makes me have crazy dreams!
So….. I don’t eat a ton of food during the day and sometimes find it hard to eat 5x during the day. I’m wondering if there is anything I should be doing differently to get my body into fat-burning mode.
I have been on thyroid medicine for years for Graves Disease. I  get my thyroid checked every 6 months and it’s been balanced for 2 years now.   So my thyroid can’t be blamed. . .  \
Thanks in advance for any guidance or direction you can offer.
See you tonight!
Tamara
Screen Shot 2014-01-11 at 12_37_27 PM
Hi Tamara,
your food schedule looks good. You eat within an hour of waking up, start your day with protein and end it with a small meal.
If you’re not hungry, then you don’t want to force yourself to eat, but the real answer lies in what happens if you don’t eat. If you go for long hours without eating (longer than 4 hours), then your blood sugar drops and you end up feeling ravenous, tired, cranky and with low blood sugar. Sugar and junk food cravings in the afternoon are a signal of low blood sugar.You crave sugar because that’s what skyrockets your blood sugar up quickly. If you give in, the bad news is you’re hungry quickly thereafter and you put your body in fat storage mode, so not a good solution given your fat loss goals.
It’s a much better approach to eat regularly to avoid sugar cravings. In fact one of the best signs that your blood sugar is regulated is that you’re not hungry. You don’t have to eat a full meal, but having a protein shake or 10 nuts or perhaps just a few veggie snacks would do the trick.
Low thyroid function can slow your metabolism, but you cannot blame it for lack of fat loss as even those with low thyroid can still lose fat with the proper diet. I’m glad you’re not blaming your thyroid for it, especially because it’s regulated with meds.
I suggest you look at your breakfast – the egg white wrap. You need about 6 egg whites to get 20 grams of protein, which is your ideal amount 5x a day. Wraps are often loaded with carbs, so find out how many you’re eating. If you’re eating little protein and lots of carbs, then you are spiking your blood sugar, which would explain the afternoon junk food cravings. If you want to figure out energy fluctuations in your day, always look back at the last meal you had before you experience an energy low. It will tell you a lot about your food sensitivities.
See you tonight! Ariane

Who won August Slim & Strong? Join us in September!

August was a great month for my Slim & Strong participants. While many people skipped several sessions due to vacations, long weekends and work events, the majority made their attendance a priority and saw great resuts. Here are the winners of the AM Session:

1st: VIVIANA ($200 shopping spree at City Sports)

Weight lost: 4.2 lbs

Body fat lost: 5.6% (that is some pretty insane body fat loss!)

Percentage of her weight lost: 2.9%

Body fat lost: 9.3 lbs

Lean muscle gained: 5 lbs

Congrats Viviana, you really nailed it!



2nd: Anne (10 Outdoor Boot Camp Sessions)

Weight lost: 12 lbs

Body fat lost: 4.2%

Percentage of weight lost: 4.5%

Body fat lost: 10.6 lbs

Lean muscle lost: 2.2 lbs

3rd: Erin (5 Outdoor Boot Camp sessions)

Weight lost: 5 lbs

Body fat lost:  1%

Percentage of weight lost: 3.3%

Body fat lost: 2.8 lbs

Lean muscle lost: 2.2 lbs

Evening Slim & Strong Session Winners

1st: Pamela ($200 shopping spree at City Sports)

Weight lost: 4 lbs

Body fat lost: 3.6%

Percentage of her weight lost: 3.3%

Body fat lost: 5.6 lbs

Lean muscle gained: 1.6 lbs



















2nd: Melissa H. (10 Outdoor Boot Camp Sessions)

Weight lost: 6.4 lbs

Body fat lost: 2.5%

Percentage of weight lost: 4.5%

Body fat lost: 5.3 lbs

Lean muscle lost: 1.1 lbs

3rd: Donna (5 Outdoor Boot Camp sessions)

Weight lost: 

3rd: Donna (5 Outdoor Boot Camp Sessions)

Weight lost: 3.4 lbs

Body fat lost: 2.7 lbs

Percentage of weight lost: 2.7%

Body fat lost: 4.4 lbs

Lean muscle gained: 1 lb

Are you ready to join us in September? The Slim & Strong AM session is sold out, but here are 3 other options for you to get a kick-ass body:

* Slim & Strong PM Session.  Meets at 26th & 6th Ave. Mo/Thu at 6.30pm for 4 weeks. Starts this coming Thursday. $240. Details

* Slim & Strong AM Session. Meets at 57th & 2nd Ave. Tue/Thu at 6.30am for 3 weeks. Starts September 17th. $180. Details 

* Join the 21-Day Nutribullet Detox, starting September 16th. 

                Participate remotely (get daily emails, a team mate, the workout DVD, 2x weekly workouts emailed, etc) $150

                Take 6 indoor classes (Mo, Thu 6.30pm or Tue, Thu 6.30am) $235

                Take 6 outdoor classes (Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, Upper East Side locations) $200

* If your goal is fat loss, then be sure to come to my Nutrition Workshop. It will truly change your thinking about food and dieting forever. Lose an average of 10 lbs in the first month by putting to use your new knowledge. Monday, September 9th, 6.30pm, Stepping Out Studios, 37 W. 26th Street, 9th Floor. $25

Join us and feel great in your skin!

Who Won the August NutriBullet Detox?

We had another great bunch of people join the August NutriBullet Detox. They committed to drinking at least two NutriBlast Shakes per day, gave up alcohol, sugar, processed food for 21 days and they aimed for 3 hours of exercise per week. Additionally, they eliminated all dairy, grains, fruit, and starch for the first week and ate protein and veggies only. After the first 7 days, everyone decided if and what food group to add back in. Many stuck to a clean diet for the entire 21 days and experienced tremendous progress. Here are the top 3 winners!

Here are the winners: 

1st Prize: $500 CASH
NICOLE
Weight loss: 10.6 lbs
Body fat loss: 1.4%
% of body weight lost: 4.5%
Lean muscle lost: 3.2 lbs
Fat lost: 7.4 lbs

2nd Prize: 10 Boot Camp Sessions

DEBBIE 
Weight loss: 6.4 lbs
Body fat loss: .9%
% of body weight lost: 3.7%
Lean muscle: 2.5 lbs lost (normal with lots of weight loss)
Fat lost: 3.9 lbs


3rd Prize: 5 Boot Camp Sessions
JAIME
Weight loss: 2.2 lbs
Body fat loss: 1.7%
% of body weight lost: 1.6%
Lean muscle gained: .7 lbs (well done!)
Fat lost: 2.9 lbs



I want to mention Dennis since I’ve been writing about him. Dennis is our front desk guy at the gym, where I teach my morning Slim & Strong program. Dennis is always in a good mood, always friendly and always encouraging. But, he loves to eat foods that I cringe at and for the past three years I encouraged him to come to my nutrition class or to incorporate a few better snacks into his diet. To no avail. In July he saw my boot campers come into the gym with their NutriBullet shakes in the mornings. He asked me one morning if I was drinking baby food. His interest was stoked and so I made him a shake one morning that was super-tasty: bananas, strawberries, spinach, kale and vanilla protein powder. He loved it. From that point on, I would bring him a shake in the mornings and he sucked them down. When I asked him if he wanted to join the NutriBullet Detox, he said yes faster than I realized I had actually asked him to join us. He made it happen and lost 17 lbs in 21 days. Yes, he had been eating a diet high in carbs and fat before and that’s in large part why he lost so much weight. Also, when you’re heavier, you burn more calories and you lose fat faster than someone who’s tiny and has a small frame, so that explains in part the loss. Also, Dennis did not participate in the workouts and that’s why he didn’t qualify for the grand prize of $500, so it goes to show you that the power of diet is tremendous and exercise isn’t always driving weight loss. 

So, I hope next time you see Dennis, you’ll congratulate him on his great progress and ask him what the shake of the day was. We all like some accountability and Dennis sure knows he has a fan club now :-)
Congratulations to all the other Detoxers who participated remotely. You took 21 days for yourself, to focus on creating an environment in which you can thrive and function better. This is just one step towards creating the life you want, but it’s a big one you took in learning about yourselves. Keep at it. It doesn’t have to be perfect to work, it just needs to be consistent. 
Are you ready to join the next NutriBullet Detox? It starts September 15th. 
Sign up soon before prices go up on September 5th. Here’s the scoop. 
You will have 3 options to join: 
1. Take 6 indoor classes with me
2. Take 6 outdoor classes
3. Participate remotely 

Detox: So much more than just weight loss!

On the last day of our 21-Day Detox I asked my participants to think about the following: 

1) What improvements have you noticed?
2) What did you learn about yourself in the process?
3) What food sensitivities did you notice?
4) What is your plan going forward? 

The email they sent me will return to their inbox a month from now. It will serve as a reminder of just how great they felt when they finished. 

I have received a load of great emails and I picked one that stood out. This email is from a Christina, who works a very busy job as a producer. Her work takes place at all hours of the day, sometimes late into the night or even morning when on set. Yet, she managed to clean up her diet, keep it clean and achieve some remarkable changes. 

Her email pointed out so many factors I wanted my detoxers to “get” that I decided to share it with you. Eating clean is not about being on a diet. It’s not about being perfect. It’s not about losing a certain amount of weight. Eating clean is a way of life. It is about restoring your health, your well-being, your energy by using food as medicine. Once you realize how great you can feel without any excess or junk, your desire to sabotage yourself with poor food choices disappears as well. 

I’m sure you will be convinced that eating a clean diet and taking care of yourself is well worth the effort, planning and time. 


Here’s Christina’s take: 

What improvements have you noticed?

“My cravings are almost completely gone.   Before I started the 21-day program (and the main reason I chose to sign up), I was really feeling like a prisoner to my cravings. I had been trying to cut out my need for a sweet “treat” every night. I also felt dependent on carbs to feel like I had a “real” meal. I know that those ideas are B.S., but I just couldn’t get over the delusion alone so I decided to sign up and be motivated by the group environment. And it worked.  I was able to let go of those foods with minimal effort, especially with the help of the Nutribullet shakes, which ended up being a great source of entertainment too. I enjoyed experimenting with different combos and then, of course, being filled up by them to fight off hunger and cravings.  After only a few days I had completely let go of the need for sweets at night, and even of the need to overeat at night. Even now, post 21 days, I am completely motivated to stay away from even the idea that I need a treat at all, let alone every night! I might have something sweet today on July 4th, or maybe I won’t. I just don’t feel imprisoned by the cravings anymore. I can hear them pass through my mind, but they keep floating by without the drama of “should I? shouldn’t I?” Now I just think of the other options I can have, or better yet, I finally get, Ariane, what you’ve been saying for a while, which is asking “am I really hungry? Is it just thirst? boredom? Is there something else I can do?” Sometimes I even take those moments of craving as an opportunity to meditate for a few minutes and then the craving usually either goes away and/or reveals itself to be about something else: fear, anxiety, etc.

What did you learn about yourself in the process? 
I love these shakes.  These protein veggie shakes are the best because they combine all the things I want from food: 1) Nutrient Rich Meal! 2) Entertainment!  3) Satiation. I really enjoy coming up with new combinations, even just tweaking a little, like one day adding lemon and the next time seeing what it’s like with lime, or looking at other people’s concoctions.   I have been a fan of smoothies for a while but this set of criteria helped ween me off of the need for fruit in them. I’m now much more tolerant of a “grassier” smoothie.  Mooooooo…:) 

What food sensitivities did you uncover?  It became obvious pretty quickly that dairy makes me feel crappy and gluten makes me extremely tired. I’ve been keeping away from these as much as possible. I love nuts, so I them back after week two, but I eat much less of them because I’m now noticing how heavy they really are in my stomach. A little goes a long way. Same with cheese. I also see how when I eat bread, I’m hungry soon after and the hunger is stronger. More, almost violent, than when I’m just hungry for veggies and protein. It’s like the hunger that comes after eating bread has cranky attached to it…obvious signs of withdrawal, no??

What is your plan going forward?
Food Planning.  One of the reasons I signed up for the Nutribullet detox was because a) I was struggling on my own with portion control and food choices and b) was about to move into a heavy production cycle of work and I KNOW that my diet goes out the window when I’m busy. I was worried about it, saw the detox coming up and thought that even though I knew I’d miss some exercise classes due to my schedule, being connected to the program might give me support in controlling cravings and portions.  And it worked. This is probably the biggest stumbling block for me- these busy production cycles of my work. 

Here’s what I did differently this time: I brought my food as much as possible to set, and even if I couldn’t (due to long shoots and lack of refrigeration, etc) I would have my shakes and meals right before call time, and then would just eat the proteins available or small handfuls of nuts and yogurt. Instead of saying, “oh well I have no choice but eat all these bagels and pasta because I’m stuck here for 14 more hours and if I don’t eat this pasta I will surely starve to death!”  I never did that and this was a huge step forward for me. And, following that, often I would get home from long shoots and in feeling worn out as producer taking care of everyone else, I would sink into poor eating choices like it was a “treat.”  I didn’t do that this time around. As soon as I got home, I’d make a shake, and have my hard boiled eggs and be back with my prepared plan. I don’t know how this happened, this letting go of thinking junk is a treat, but it did happen and I say HALLELUJAH to that!!!  
I take this very seriously and plan to do everything possible to keep this mindset. Shitty food is not a treat!! This is my new mantra!! :)

Daily Emails are very helpful.  I am still reading them and there’s so much good info in there that I’m really excited to pour through it all and let it soak in. Thank you!
MY PLAN MOVING FORWARD: 
* I plan to stay with the meal plan basically as it has been. 
* I will occasionally have a piece of fruit, but no more than one serving a day and not every day. 
* I will also add a small amount of nuts and cheese, but be mindful of the servings since they are both easy for me to overeat and often feel heavy in my stomach. 
* I will also stay away from grains//glutens//breads as much as possible. I really don’t need them to have a meal. This is still a bit of a challenge when I’m eating out. So, I’ll continue to look at menus before going to restaurants and picking places where there are plenty of options. 
* I’ll also plan to repeat my mantra as much as possible. Shitty food is not a treat!! Even if the food itself isn’t shitty, per se, but makes me feel shitty and triggers cravings, then it goes in the pile with the ho-hos and all the other junk!    
* Plan Plan Plan. I will continue to plan meals, shop and prepare foods ahead of time, and make sure I have plenty of options for as long as it takes to become second nature.  
* Mindfulness. Like I did this time, when I see a potential situation that is usually a trigger (like lots of work, or eating out)  I will employ support and planning to help my chances of making good choices.    

Thanks, Ariane, for all that you do. You’ve had a tremendously positive impact on me and in shaping my path to a healthy life!  
Whenever I hear Eddie Murphy’s ‘My girl likes to party all the time,’ I’ll start doing jumping jacks, like pavlov’s dog!! – Christina”


If you’re ready to clean up your act, change your body, get your health back and keep that mindset you gain by detoxing, join us for the next one. We are starting July 30th. Here’s the scoop. You can even join us remotely and do it from afar. 

Ariane

Drum Roll Please: The Nutribullet Detox results are in!

After 21 days of the Nutribullet Detox my participants were eager to find out how they did. So was I. The winner of my challenges is always determined by how much body fat was lost and how much muscle gained. Losing weight isn’t that important but what matters is that your body composition changes. You may have started at 150 pounds and finished at 150 pounds, but what matters is what happened to your body fat. If your body fat drops and your weight stays the same, that means you lost fat and gained muscle. That’s a great change because muscle increases your metabolism, makes you leaner and smaller and when fat is lost, then toxins are released from the fatty tissue. 
The challenge is always to keep the muscle on our bodies. Typically when you reduce your food intake, you lose muscle. That’s fine up to a certain point. If you lose too much muscle, you’ll slow your metabolism down. That’s why we eat protein 5x a day and exercise. 
A conventional juice fast always promotes muscle loss. Take, for example someone who spend $350 for one of the currently popular juice fasts for 5 days. Yes, you would lose weight, but the weight loss is the result of you emptying your bowels and losing muscle. You rarely lose body fat because on a low-or no-protein diet your muscle cannibalizes itself. Even worse, once you eat real food again, all that weight is back in a matter of 2-3 days, plus more because now your metabolism is even slower, thanks to the muscle loss. Got it? That’s why the Nutribullet Detox produced fat loss galore. We ate, were never hungry, felt energized, our mood was balanced and we slept like babies. 
Let me show you the winners: 
1st Prize of $500 goes to DENNIS:
Weight loss: 8 lbs
Body fat loss: 9.4%
% of body weight lost: 5.5%
Lean muscle gained: 6.7 lbs
Fat lost: 14.7 lbs
2nd Prize of 10 Boot Camp sessions goes to BARBARA:
Weight loss: 8.8 lbs
Body fat loss: 4.1%
% of body weight lost: 6%
Lean muscle: .26 lost (Barbara managed to maintain her muscle mass, which is great!)
Fat lost: 8.5 lbs

3rd Prize of 5 Boot Camp sessions goes to Laura:
Weight loss: 12.1 lbs
Body fat loss: 2.7%
% of body weight lost: 8.3%
Lean muscle: 3.3 lbs lost
Fat lost: 6.7 lbs

 Here are a few others with remarkable results. Just for inspiration!

Nicole lost 7.6 lbs, 2.3% body fat. That translated into 6.3 lbs of pure fat lost!

 Kelly lost 12 lbs and .6% body fat (that measurements is inaccurate due to dehydration) and 7 inches!

Wade has lost close to 40 lbs in the last year and absolutely deserves a big mention here for his consistent working out and eating clean. What an incredible change!

Samantha dropped an “easy” 10.4 lbs!

Gwynne dropped 10 lbs as well and started feeling great again.

Leslie dropped 10 lbs and 2% body fat!

Liz got a new body. Check this out: 4.4 lbs lost and 8.5 inches down!

Or, this might just say it all: Kick Ass!!!!

Here’s more interesting stuff. 27 People did the final weigh-in and here’s how many lost that amount of weight:

1 lb: 1 person
2 lbs: 2
3 lbs: 1
4 lbs: 5
5 lbs: 5
6 lbs: 2
7 lbs: 1
8 lbs: 3
9 lbs: 2
10 lbs: 3
12 lbs: 2

 Congatulations to all who participated. You made some amazing changes in your life and it shows. Keep on it as this is only the beginning!

Nutribullet Detox Day 18: The Day I Almost Killed My Nutribullet

This morning I brought Dennis, our front desk guy at the gym another Nutribullet Shake. It was loaded with greens (kale, spinach, cucumbers, beets and lemon with vanilla whey protein powder by Bluebonnet). He sucked that one down too and I left him a bag of raw veggie chips from Alive & Radiant. I’ll have to see on Monday what the effects were. It just so thrilled me to see him enjoy the greens. 

I don’t know about you, but I love seeing people change into better versions of themselves. It excites me when people start taking care of their health and actually make the connection to their body. And if they stay motivated to keep doing it. When they are self-motivated and driven by WANTING to feel good, it usually sticks. When they are motivated by something external (being forced to change or quick fix goals) it’s usually just a matter of time until they relapse again to their old behaviors. Once people have the tools to take care of themselves, they can take the show on the road. I see that as my role: teach my clients what works and what doesn’t so they can be educated to make their own decisions. I’ve never wanted to be the kind of nutritionist that puts together exact meal plans that count out calories and nutrients because that’s not reality in my eyes. Food should be about enjoyment and it should be used as medicine. It shouldn’t become a science experiment or an Excel chart project for the sake of living up to your nutrition calculations. It’s about creating health and well-being with food and that takes more than calculations…

Yesterday my interns created a fun contest called “What’s up Remi?” and called for captions for the picture below. Your responses were great. Good thinking guys! Kathy won a DVD and the next one’s up next week, so check back with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (BrookynBBC). Here they are:


Winner: ”You think you’re slick mom?? This ain’t no peanut butter sandwich!” – Kathy Maher




“Don’t knock it til you try it” – Holly Charlotte
“What? You’ve never seen a dog drink a shake before?” – Sara Logan Hofstein
“Look at me, now look at my protein shake, look at me, now look at my protein shake, look at me, now back at my protein shake…does your bitch look half as good as me…yeah, didn’t think so!” – Patricia Laboy
“Shake yes. I am really not liking the COLOR or SIZE of the STRAW.” – Claudette Ward
“Not organic? Oh, then I’ll have to pass.” – Lauren Key
“Go on, I’m listening…no really this is my serious listening face, no really, very good topic…uh huh….” – Joanna Briley
“Nope. Too green. I AM NOT A COW MOM!” – Fiona Hopkins-Rothenberg
“Green! It does a doggy good…Rrroops…body good!” – Debbie Aviles
“Can I get fries with this shake?” – Danielle DiRienzo
“Mommy made me a green smoothie…it’s kinda different” – Susan Ross
“Would you like a carrot with that?” – Susan Martin
“I’m a dog! Not a rabbit!” – itfromqns on Instagram (Leslie Torre)
“Staying fit is sometimes RUFF but not with a great healthy juice before my workout!” – ariellespeciner on Instagram (Arielle Speciner)
“I don’t usually drink my vegetables, but when I do, it’s with a straw! Cheers!” – Eugene Koenig
“If this were a margarita, do you think I’d look this good??!” – Neena Reddy-Holt
“My home, my shadow, my Bullet shake!” – Steffi Buss
“The FDA actually approved this?! Next thing you know, they’ll tell us it’s safe to consume high fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners. Wait, what’s that? They already have? I’ll never understand you humans.” – Lauren Key



If you’re looking for more recipe ideas for your Nutribullet, check out our PINTEREST board.  Remi had 
a very special green shake. Only issue was slurping it through the straw but I’m sure she’ll master that soon. 
I stopped at Trader Joe’s for a few goodies and a treat for the Reminator. She liked to eat it in the front seat
and yes, she is buckled up too so she can’t reach my kale chips. 


Then she needed an iced coffee too… She’s becoming so demanding but I can’t say no to puppy eyes. 
Don’t try them on me!


I’m looking forward to getting to bed before 10pm tonight 

and I’m excited to start my day with boot camp tomorrow, followed by a massage. It’s been 
many months since I’ve had one. I’m so overdue. 

Monday is our last detox day. I’m feeling so good about my shakes that without doubt I’ll 
continue on with them. I’m also eagerly awaiting my food dehydrator so I can make veggie chips. I have learned quite a few
things in the past 3 weeks. Not just nutritionally but also emotionally and it’s all coming together
in new and good ways. I’ll tell you more when my brain is more awake. 

Food today:
Breakfast: 4 egg whites, 2 yolks on Mestemacher Fitness Bread with 1 tomato
Snack: Kale chips and baked snap peas
Lunch: Turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato, cole slaw (from the butcher in town – sooo good!)
Dinner: Turkey salad on Mestemacher Fitness bread with Veggie Shake (carrots, kale, tomatoes, 
Vega Vanlla Chai protein powder, water.
Snack: Banana ice cream (blended 2 frozen bananas with 2 tbsp of almond butter and a little almond milk.
Almost destroyed my Nutribullet motor. It got so hot it had to take an emergency break. My food
processor finished the job. 



Have a great weekend!





Nutribullet Detox Day 12: Vision boards, wish lanterns and a Super Moon!

Day 2 of our Detox Retreat started out again with a butt-kicking around the Menla Retreat Center campus. We were ready for breakfast and the kitchen didn’t know what hit them when everyone ran for the eggs. Last night’s nutrition workshop set them straight so they knew to go for the protein and veggies (success, :-)
The day started out especially well for Nicole who noticed that she can now rest her coffee cup on her stomach because it’s so flat. Perhaps she has also never had a cup of coffee first thing in the morning in an Adirondack chair…? 

 We encountered our friends, the deer again today. Here’s deer mom with little Bambi, just walking across the path in front of me. The chef from our kitchen feeds them apple cores when they come to the back door. They are so incredibly tame and beautiful.

 Here’s our yoga retreat room where we do boot camp and hold our workshops. We spent the morning session assessing where we are in our live right now (career, relationships, health, social, spiritual, financial) and we shared amongst ourselves the steps we are committed to taking to make changes. The openness with which everyone shared their stories was astonishing and mirrored by everyone.

 Lunch in the sun was a big salad with mixed greens, carrots, tuna and chicken breast, with ginger carrot dressing. The afternoon was spent by many hanging out by the pool and the majority got massages in their beautiful spa. Relaxation was much-needed and the sun greatly appreciated.

 After an afternoon butt kicking that included some one-minute drills to max intensity, we enjoyed a delicious dinner of bok choy and sautéed kale, more greens and some ate a grain dish with curry sauce.

 We spent the evening creating vision boards to further put our intention forward of what we want our lives to look like. Everyone got engrossed in magazines and finding images that mirror their desires. Here are a few of the great boards that were created. They are powerful reminders that you want to look at daily to keep you acting towards what you want more of in your life. You create what you focus most of your energy on, so be sure you focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want.

 We sent off our wishes into the universe by lighting wish lanterns. The sky was clear and there was not even a breeze – the perfect setting to send off over 25 wish lanterns into the sky. It was quite the sight and everyone truly loved that part of the evening.

A full moon to boot. Even better, it’s a Perigee moon, which means it’s 13% bigger and 30% brighter than usually as it is very close to the Earth. And this is the year’s Supermoon. How much more power can our wishes get today? I think we couldn’t have picked a more powerful night to set our intentions for the future.

Nutribullet Detox Day 10: Decompressing with the birds…

I’m writing this blog post sitting on my deck upstate. I came up this afternoon to get ready for our 3-Day Detox retreat that starts tomorrow morning, Friday. 
Sipping a cup of green tea, listening to the birds, the nearby stream, and Remi barking at a bear that has been making its rounds close to the house lately. This is what I have been waiting for all week. Just a moment to decompress and have some quiet time outside. I cherish these moments up here because the trees and silence bring me back to myself. 
I taught a boot camp class for my Detoxers this morning, who had incredible energy. It makes me so happy to see the changes in my participants: the increased energy, the great skin, the mental clarity, the lack of lethargy and the ease with which they now make clean food choices. We started our workout with 15 minutes of non-stop cardio and plyometric moves, then switched to push ups followed by 30 mountain climbers, followed by dumbbell work, followed by 30 mountain climbers, followed by resistance band work, followed by 30 mountain climbers. We did 5 sets of the previous and a bonus mountain climber round, which got us to 530 mountain climbers. That felt quite “special”!
I saw my one of my private clients afterwards. I enjoy seeing her because she has such a positive energy. She reminds me in her own way about what really matters in life and we both share a similar philosophy on the meaning of life. We’ve shared quite a few challenging experiences with each other in the past years, whether it be career or relationship issues or just some totally silly laughs about our own quirks. She can be a total goof and at the same time be so serious about her passion, her career and her future dreams that she’s an inspiration to me.  Despite all her success she is so grounded and real that it feels good just to be in her presence. And, she always comments on my blog too, so thank you for reading Frau Donnerschenkel (I had to drop a little insider joke here :-)
While working out, we both overheard the news that the actor James Gandolfini died of a heart attack at the age of 51. I was quickly reminded that my own dad died at the age of 48 of a heart attack. I just can’t help but to think that no matter how much money you have, how many resources and how many penthouse apartments with rooftop pools you have, if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything. I sometimes get upset when I see people treating their own bodies so poorly. I know that a big part of my motivation to help others feel better about themselves and in their skin is driven by the fact that I lost my dad early. I have always wanted to make sure that this doesn’t have to happen to anybody else. Naturally I was interested in natural health, healing, nutrition and anything related to the mind-body connection. It’s tragic to see people die young of causes that are completely preventable. Something that could have been easily prevented by a choice to take care, by a choice to listen to your body, by a choice to treat yourself respectfully. I know it’s not easy, but do we really have another option but to take care of our health? Nobody will do it for you. It is just something you have got to figure out for yourself and I wonder why we sometimes are just so damn good at self-sabotage…
Yesterday I met one of my neighbors for the first time and we quickly struck up a conversation. She told me she had lost 140 lbs so far and has had 5 surgeries to remove excess skin. She still has about 40 pounds weight to lose and more operations ahead, but what an amazing woman and that at the age of 60. It’s never too late to decide for yourself that your life is worth living – living better than you have been. 
Breakfast: 4 egg whites, 2 yolks on Mestemacher Fitness Bread, 1 tomato
Snack: Nutribullet Shake: Swiss chard from the farmer’s market with 2 tomatoes and Vanilla protein power by Bluebonnet (this was by far the most velvety and silky shake I have ever made. It tasted like a milkshake. I highly recommend the Swiss Chard!
Lunch:  1 slice Mestemacher with organic roasted chicken breast, kale chips, 1 pint of cherry tomatoes

Snack: Kale chips, seaweed snack (love that stuff!), roasted chicken breast
Dinner: Nutribullet Shake with spinach, kale, ginger, lemon, vanilla whey protein powder
Slice of Mestemacher Multigrain bread with roasted chicken breast and cajun mustard (too much bread today, I know)
Workout: 1 hour Slim & Strong

I’m such a fat ass!

You may not know this but I’m not only a personal trainer and nutritionist, but I’m also a priest. I take confessions. Food confessions. And, surprisingly, I let people off the hook without doing 5 Hail Mary’s or punish them with 300 squat thrusts. In most cases when I take confessions by guilty souls, I try to assure them that they are normal. That there is no person in the world who eats perfectly clean 100% of the time (if you do, please email me. If you’re eating disordered, that doesn’t count!). That, in fact, it is important to vary one’s food intake and to eat the foods you crave once in a while. And, that the worst thing you can do is beat yourself up over it because that sends you into an even deeper tailspin than where you started.
Take a look at two emails I received recently:

“Subject: I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.

Ice cream that is. Almost a full pint, Haagen Dazs no less. And I’ve been really really good. No chocolate at all. I was possessed. Didn’t have enough to eat during the day. And I can’t make it tomorrow night to class. Maybe I’ll come to the morning class – is there room? I signed up for Feb so maybe it’s one long extended month. When is your next detox? Should probably do that too.”

And then there was another one:

“I was doing so well and felt so great…and then shortly after my last e-mail to you, I got off track. And it’s been a downward spiral. I know I shouldn’t and don’t want to dwell on it and I’ve been trying to refocus my thoughts and energy, but I could knock myself out for making such poor choices. Yesterday was better and today is a new day. I’m definitely one of those super sensitive sugar people. It only takes a little taste and ALL the cravings come right back. That’s actually what ruined it for me. I think it was day 18 of the Detox and I bought a 85% dark chocolate bar to treat myself for doing so well. Then I ate the WHOLE bar. What a fat ass!!!”

What do both have in common? Both women caved into a sweet craving. The end result is massive guilt and they’re beating themselves up. Now, mind you, this isn’t uncommon amongst us women. I rarely have guys show up for class, confession to me they at the whole tub of Ben & Jerry’s and that they would now stop eating and run 50 miles. Nor do they get the whip out to whip themselves over the back for being such shameful and disgusting human beings. They tend to just move on with their life and work it off or eat better for a few days. But look at us women. We strive for perfection. That perfect body. The perfect diet. The day we are at our ultimate goal: the Victoria’s Secret Body. And then – boom – someone handcuffs us and forces chocolate down our throat and we just didn’t have a chance to say no. We were possessed and couldn’t stop it. As end result we should just go to hell with out fat asses and never surface to Earth again. Well, that’s how it often comes across.

It’s not uncommon for me to hear that and I always try to calm their guilt. I try to have them see the upside of their behavior and take off some of the guilt they feel: “It’s ok. You’re human and you live a life with many factors that can bring on food cravings: stress, work events, client dinners, travel, family visits, sleepless nights, broken hearts, unprepared meal choices, hormones…  Clearly you’re not going to be perfect 100% of the times. But, what sets you apart from those that cave in and start over a diet on Monday, is that you can simply see it as a cheat. A way to up your calorie intake temporarily to boost your metabolism. A way to satisfy your cravings and then move on. A way to experience how awful poor choices make you feel. As long as you can forgive yourself and just move on and see it as part of developing a lifestyle you are going to be just fine.”



Source: active.com
Of course, there are those that see their caving in as total failure. They feel guilty and bad that they lost control. They immediately fault themselves for being bad people for having made such poor choices. It’s no longer just about their one-time bad behavior but they immediately see themselves as bad people. Black or white. All or nothing. Those are the people that “start over” on another restrictive diet on Monday. They will spend 2 hours on the treadmill running at 10.0 (ok, I’m exaggerating). They make short-term choices to get results fast. The results come fast and last just as long. Once they see a difference they typically revert back to their old behaviors without having learned anything about themselves and the cycle repeats itself.

I would like to give you one piece of advice based on my own learnings about perfection and the thousands of people I have worked with over the years: Be the kind of person that is relaxed enough to realize that having cheat meals/treats/reward meals – whatever you call it – is part of living a life. It helps you in the long run to keep a clean lifestyle if you allow yourself a cheat 2-3 a week (depending on where you are in relation to your ultimate goal). You’ll be a lot more relaxed about your dietary lifestyle if you incorporate and plan cheats without the guilt trip. You’ll be much better off than the person who sets the bar impossibly high and aims for perfection. 

source: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/unattractive

Perfection doesn’t really exist. It is a fleeting moment. The moment you think you have the perfect diet, the perfect body, the perfect whatever, it’s gone already. Why? Because your body changes every day. It changes with temperature, with your workouts, your hydration levels, your diet, your hormones, with travel, with age, with stress…. If your goal is to achieve perfection and maintain it at that level, you’ll never quite be happy with yourself. Your body is always a work in progress. So, you’re going to save yourself a lot of frustration and headache if you can realize that your expectations have to be somewhere between ‘realistic’ and high enough to motivate you towards your goal. How do you get there? By trial and error. You succeed and then you cave in. Then you do it again until you figure out what works for you. For some it takes years and for others, who have the support of like-minded people, like Slim & Strong participants, they tend to get there a little quicker because we learn how to ‘normalize’ these experiences we all share. 

The best action you can take to undo a food binge is to eat clean the 1-2 days afterwards and work out within 12-16 hours of that meal. You want to target the glycogen stores in your muscles and liver. If you can use most of that energy, you’ll avoid all those carbs turning into body fat. And then you simply move on like nothing happened. You worked it off. Done. 

Please, be nice to yourself and stop hating yourself for being anything less than perfect. Perfect is boring and self hate is soooo unappealing.

Love, Ariane

21 Days of Detox or How To Be A Victoria’s Secret Angel :-)

Today is the last day of Detox and I have met with the participants for weigh-ins. Tomorrow I’ll announce the big winner, but for now I wanted to share with you an email I’ve received from one of the participants:

Dear Ariane (and fellow detoxers),

First of all I want to say such a big thanks to Ariane for facilitating this wonderful program over the last three weeks. I have so many positive things to say about you and Brooklyn Bridge Boot Camp.

You remarked at the weigh-in today that I had been almost entirely quiet during the detox and I suppose I had been, but you honestly answered 99% of my questions or concerns through your ultra informative and supportive daily emails. Anytime I would think to email you with some teeny inquiry, I would feel guilty thinking about how busy you must be writing everyone already. And though silent, I think my results are a testament to how much you did in fact help me.

I originally purchased the Boot Camp classes looking for a new exercise routine, as mine has been essentially non-existent. I moved to New York for theatre school this past year and had been consumed entirely by it. Dance and other physical classes are a part of the curriculum, which had helped me shed a good chunk of weight but when training was replaced with rehearsals my fitness regime was lacking yet again. Also, my students diet was rich in bagels, sugar, caffeine, starch and other cellulite-inducing all stars. Needless to say, when I finished the school year I knew I had to make some changes. As actors, our bodies are our instruments and I was not keeping mine finely tuned.

I discovered the detox program and figured why not really go for the complete overhaul. Worst case scenario, I learn something. Best case, I score a more palatable bikini bod and five hundred bones (by the way that’s roughly $17,524 student dollars).

I went to the weigh-in/nutrition class eager to begin. I wasn’t too worried about my weight, but slightly concerned with about body fat. Lo and behold my terror upon discovering I had the body fat percentage of an obese person. I’m pretty sure at 5’8″ and 146lbs this deserves a special award. I was embarrassed and disappointed in myself. I may not have been the biggest girl, but I sure wasn’t a fit one. Reason #326 I needed to do this.

So I did it.
I went to boot camp twice a week at 6am and got my ass kicked. Seriously, ask Myrna. I’m pretty sure the first day she thought she was gonna have to heli-vac my ass out from the second tower. It was rough. But I kept going. The days I didn’t have class I would teach myself to run for more than a minute at a time. It sucked but even after three days I was going significantly farther. I would put in the DVD at home and attempt the 7 billion sumo squats and jumping jacks. I couldn’t do it all at first but it came eventually. I’d prowl my neighborhood for any gym that would let me have a day pass or free trial and attempt to lift weights. It was hilariously pathetic but I knew I couldn’t be 2013′s new Victoria Secret Angel if I didn’t pick up a dumbbell every now and then.

http://jezebel.com/5681623/how-to-be-a-victorias-secret-angel

And then there was the diet. I ate veggies and fish. And then some more fish. And a lot more veggies. Oh and fish and veggies. I gave up meat this year so my options were limited but I did what I could. Protein shakes up the ying-yang people. Quest bars saved my life on numerous occasions. I mixed in tofu and fake meats now and then to keep the mercury poisoning in check too. And everything REALLY changed. My taste buds were retrained to find things like tomatoes sweet and my skin seemed much clearer. I could feel energised after eating a bag of carrots and was friggen wired after a single ice coffee (not the college fav quad americano). I added things back as time went on – dairy for protein options and teeny bits of fruit, maybe even a sweet potato or two now and then. I discovered I have a mild wheat/gluten intolerance. I really truly learned what my body needed and wanted and how I should deal with whatever that may be at any given time.
Now let’s be clear here. I was by no means perfect. There was some grade A, cage-free cheating going on (and I don’t mean the sweet potato). There may have been frosty margaritas on a patio somewhere, a piece of pizza at o’dark-thirty and even an encounter with the big O’s favorite piece of chocolate cake in the whole of her incredible Winfrey-licious universe. Oh yeah. I think the difference though was that I didn’t crucify myself for it after. I didn’t feel like a huge failure because I had a mouthful of sugary heaven, because I knew that the whole day before and the day before that I had made about a zillion choices that were great for me. I didn’t just change one piece of my diet, I overhauled my whole lifestyle. The cake and cocktails were no longer the norm, they were the exception.

So it worked for me! I lost 5 lbs the first week. And in the end I gained a couple of those back, but I lost about 10% of my body fat. That’s pretty major. In three weeks I reconstructed my whole body make-up really. And the best part was I wasn’t really that surprised (Ariane sure was!). I felt good and I felt like I earned it. I did what we set out to do and it paid off! Not only am I in better shape but I feel like for the first time I truly have an honest, loving and symbiotic relationship between my body and mind, and that’s something you really can’t put a value on.

So much gratitude to Ariane and Myrna for the fantastic guidance. Shout out to my detox buddy Anna for the supportive correspondence and Meret & Miss K for the sweet and cheeky blog entries!


All the best,

Helen