Nutribullet Detox Day 1: 50 Shades of Green

Here we go again. I’m participating with 43 of my clients in the 21-Day Nutribullet Detox. We have committed to giving up all alcohol, sugar, and processed food for 21 days. We are also eliminating dairy, grains, nuts, and fruit for at least the first week. After the first week everyone can make a call on one item that can be added back in. Some will stay ultra-clean for 21 days, others will add certain foods back in. We are drinking at least 2 Nutribullet shakes day, drinking 3 liters of water daily, upping our fiber intake to get nutrients into our bodies that help us regain a healthy blood pH balance, great digestion, a feeling of good fullness, and most importantly help us get lean and healthy.

I am feeling super excited to clean up my act again. I had dealt with a very uncomfortable sinus infection for more than a month and it had dragged into April, all the way through our Costa Rica retreat. After sleepless nights, breathing issues and total exhaustion, I finally gave up fighting it naturally and saw my doctor. I got a prescription for prednisone and antibiotics – the last thing I will ever accept as treatment, but desperate times call for desperate measures. To make a long story short, the prednisone did a number on me. I put on a good 10 lbs in a matter of days (it makes you retain water like crazy) and little did I know I was going to be eating my face off.  My doctor’s words of “try not to eat too much’ didn’t really make sense until the fridge had been emptied. Even worse, a sudden stop in taking the meds can leave you feeling scarily sad and dark. Thank goodness it was the meds because for a little while I thought I was going into a deep depression. The antibiotics also did a number on my digestion and so I felt as if the so-called ‘treatment’ left me worse off than before.

Anyways, what do you do? You stop bitching and pick yourself up, put on your spandex sweat pants and work hard on regaining yourself. The 10 lbs are finally back off, but why stop there. I prefer to get my immune system in check to prevent something like that from ever happening again.

So, here is my commitment to you for the next 21 days. I’ll share with you daily happenings, recipes, experiences and teach you a little about what we do. In exchange I hope that you too take a good look at your diet and ask yourself if you can add a few more veggies here and there, drink more water and cut out processed foods.

Here’s today’s food diary:
Breakfast: Shake made with carrots, spinach, ginger, dandelion greens, watercress and Vega Vanilla Chai Protein Powder

Snack: Tuna and salmon sashimi with seaweed salad
Shake made with carrots, spinach, ginger, kale, and Vega Vanilla Chai Protein
with a hardboiled egg

Lunch: Lettuce with grilled salmon, cucumbers, tomatoes

Snack: 3pm sweet cravings strike! I didn’t sleep well the last two nights and the sugar monster usually rears its ugly head. I beat the hell out of it with a chocolate protein powder shake with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1 tsp of chia seeds and spinach. Bam!

Pre-workout: 1 hard-boiled egg

Dinner: Carrot-Ginger Soup, kale chips, hard-boiled egg

Exercise: 2 hours Slim & Strong (the mega-intense kind)

Today was the first workout for my Detoxers. Many brought in their Nutribullet shakes and compared ingredients. It was like watching ’50 Shades of Green’.I’ve also been getting loads of pictures of their prep. Take a look at the many good foods you get to eat!

If you want to join us, then get your Nutribullet asap! Amazon will deliver next day!

My new love: NutriBullet

I believe that when things happen in 3′s it’s a sign to pay attention and act. Two weeks ago I received a package that was meant to go to my neighbor. It had “NutriBullet“ written in big letters on the sides. It came up in a conversation with a friend when he told me about juicing options. Then, I heard someone talk about it on the bus the other day. I also kept getting daily food diaries from one of my Slim & Strong participants, describing how she added kale to her protein shake every day. It made me want to add kale to my shakes too, but my blender isn’t happy when I burn through its motor. I’ve killed many blenders in my lifetime…

So, I finally decided to order one. It arrived with three cups – one tall and two small ones.


Each cup has a lid, so you can carry your concoction with you. It comes with two different blades – one to create your drinks and the other to mill any dry ingredients, such as flax seeds (which must be ground for your body to get the benefits) and chia seeds or nuts.

I got right to it. I put carrots, salad greens, 1/2 avocado and a scoop of Vega Protein Powder (Chai) in the cup, added water and blended it up. I was surprised at how creamy and delicious it was, despite all the greens, which often make green juices slightly bitter. I was instantly hooked. That was Monday. Since then I have read the entire recipe booklet that came with it. I take a shake with me to morning classes to have as my breakfast. It keeps me full for the morning, which is quite an accomplishment.

Since fruit isn’t part of my diet, I mix mostly veggies with protein powder. Here’s my lunch concoction: 2 handfuls of spinach, 1/2 lemon with the peel (I washed it with a veggie wash to get rid of any waxes and residue), 2 carrots, 1 scoop Vega Protein Powder (Chai), and 1/2 avocado. I added water and within a few seconds I had the most delicious, creamy, rich and nutritious smoothie I’ve ever had. It would have taken me a while to get this down had I eaten it as a salad or in a stir-fry.

As you may know, I’m not a fan of juice cleanses because you basically take in way too much fruit sugar and veggie sugar, without much fiber and it doesn’t satiate you. Plus, you’re not balancing your blood sugar or learning about proper nutrition. All it does is make you lose a few pounds because you’re not taking in solid food and eliminating all your bowel contents. Plus, you’re losing muscle because you’re not taking in any protein.

However, have you ever thought of doing a veggie cleanse? With the Nutri Bullet you could actually have 5 meals a day – in liquid form, get tons of nutrients, relieve your digestive system, keep full and stay in fat burning mode, while taking in nutrients that make your skin shine, your eyes clear and your stomach flatter within just a few days. Just make sure you add protein to your drinks.

And, here’s another great thing about this blender. You spend a good $8 on a green juice. If you’re a fan of the new branded juices, you’ll dish out about $12 per bottle and take in only sugar -not much fiber. With the NutriBullet, you save tons of money because you make your own, and you are getting all the nutrients with the fiber! I used to own a juicer and used it about 6 times… Until I got so tired of cleaning up that damn thing after each use. I was throwing away tons of fiber and it took up half my kitchen.

I plan on taking the NutriBullet with me to our Costa Rica retreat. I can’t wait to create some tropical post-beach-boot-camp-concoctions to be enjoyed by the ocean. Oh yeah!

The NutriBullet website sells them for $120, but here’s where I bought my NutriBullet for a little over $100. Totally worth the investment and I hope you have as much fun with it as I do. Plus, the green mustache you get from drinking your juice is quite sexy :-)

http://www.gdefon.com/

ooops, I meant cute, but Tom would agree..

P.S. I’m not getting paid to say any of this. I just really love this product!

Have some delicious concoctions you can share? Please let me know in the comments below!

P.P.S. Here is your workout for the day. Oldie but goodie. 7 Minutes to Amazing Arms

The scoop on energy bars, lattes, oatmeal, and juices

Hi Ariane,

Can you give me your feedback on the following foods? They are staples in my diet. I have been trying to lose weight for a while but can’t seem to make any lasting progress.

·     * Large iced skim latte (Starbucks)

·     * Whole foods instant oatmeal (plain)

·     * Package of edamame with string cheese

·     * KIND pecan/blueberry bar

·     * Blueprint juice (right after class today)

·      * slices of turkey with frozen spinach

I’m wondering if you have any suggestions for two things. One, I’m never hungry in the morning and feel rather nauseated, so I eat for the first time around 11:00am.  I know that’s not ideal, but not sure what I can do…The other thing is I feel extremely lightheaded/am seeing stars during workouts. I’m sure this is mostly because I am so out of shape but if there’s something I should do/eat differently before the workout you think would help would, I would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks for everything so far!

Stephanie, in the back corner :)

Hi Stephanie, 

thanks for sending your food diary. Here are a few comments:

Lattes are loaded with carbs from the milk, so I’d opt for an ice coffee with skim milk so you’re not overloading on milk sugar. Milk sugar can raise your blood sugar and signal your body to story fat. A little latte here and there may not be an issue but it all adds up and especially if you finally see a difference, it all matters. 

Instant oatmeal is basically pre-digested. The oats are broken in small pieces, which make them processed, so opt for slow-cooked oatmeal instead. It keeps your blood sugar balanced much longer and with that you’re satiated longer. Make sure you add some protein to it to balance out the carbs from the oats. Perhaps add a cup of low-fat plain Greek yogurt,  a scoop of protein powder or a cup of Kefir.


Kind bars are lower in calories than most nutrition bars, but they do contain quite a bit of sugar. For the time being, cut out all bars as most are loaded with sugar and artificial ingredients. Too many nuts – too much fat… it all adds up and doesn’t help you stay satiated for long as sugar makes you hungry for more.


Blueprint juices may be ‘healthy’ but they’re not fat burning juices. You still load up on at least 30 g of carbs per cup and they get absorbed instantly because it’s a liquid. Liquids don’t require any energy to be digested, so there’s little ‘thermogenic action’ going on – or calories burned through digestion. And you didn’t even have a protein with it to balance out the sugar from the juice, so you actually raised your blood sugar and signaled your body to store fat rather than burning it. Juices are overrated and I don’t recommend living off juices to lose weight quickly as the end result is loads of muscle lost, constant hunger, mood swings, and the weight loss is the result of your colon being emptied out from a lack of sold food. Drink a protein shake instead or use the calories for solid food since that actually satiates for much longer than a juice. Here’s more on juicing. 


Turkey and spinach – great dinner. It’s the perfect combination of protein and good fibrous carbs. Just make sure you eat a lot of spinach. You can afford to eat about 30g of spinach, which equals about 10 cups!


Even if you’re not hungry for breakfast, at least drink a protein shake. If you haven’t eaten since dinner the night before and then wait til 11am to eat, then your blood sugar is so low that it’s hard to balance it out. You are going without food for 15 hours or so. Also, you will lose muscle mass if you let too many hours go by without eating protein. 

Seeing stars could be low blood sugar or a blood pressure issue. It’s quite common in the first few boot camp classes to feel the intensity of the workouts. Your body is trying to generate enough energy and oxygen and if you’re not breathing properly you can temporarily feel a bit light headed. It typically disappears within 2-4 workouts as you get fitter and your endurance improves. 

I suggest you eat 5x a day. Eat a lean protein at every meal (fish, turkey, chicken, eggs, lean beef, protein shakes, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, etc) and then add loads of veggies. The only veggies you had were a few edamame beans and a bit of spinach. That’s by far not enough to fill up and get enough nutrients. Once you add veggies in, you’ll feel better, your digestion picks up, your energy picks up and you’ll be full all the time. 
See you in the corner! :-)

Are you in charge of your health?

I dug up an interview with Well & Good NYC that pretty much sums up a lot of the questions I receive on a daily basis. To get more information abut the various topics, click on the links.  Keep on it people: Your health needs daily attention and not just when something’s wrong. So, what are you going to do today to boost your health mojo? I’m off to enjoy my favorite breakfast: scrambled eggs, kale cakes and a shot of ginger and wheatgrass! 

Creator of the popular Brooklyn Bridge Boot Camp,  Ariane Hundt integrates nutritional counseling into her high-octane outdoor workouts. With a master’s degree in nutrition, Hundt advises clients on starches as well as squats. (The latter are better for you.)  Her January “Slim and Strong” boot camp is sold out, so we sat down with Hundt over skim lattes and digested the Cliff’s Notes of her nutrition program.
“New Yorkers, like everyone else, let themselves go over the holidays, knowing that come January 1st they will embark on yet another diet or exercise regimen,” says Hundt. Instead of expecting yourself to turn a magic new spinach leaf in January, Hundt abides by a proven recipe for healthy weight loss: a good diet paired with exercise.

Usually trainers literally aren’t licensed to give nutrition advice, but you’re a nutritionist and a trainer. How does that inform your boot camp?
 You can spend ten hours a week in the gym, but you won’t see changes unless you make your diet work for you. I’ve had clients come to boot camp five days a week and not lose a pound! That’s because they didn’t change their diet. Eighty percent of any results are due to nutrition.
Is there one persistent food culprit? 
Yes, too many starches!! I see it again and again in my clients’ food diaries: bread, rice, and potatoes. Alcohol is another biggie. Alcohol messes up fat burning and estrogen levels. Women shouldn’t have more than a drink a day. If one drink has 100 calories, that’s 3,000 calories at the end of the month.

What do you think of The Master Cleanse? The Grapefruit Diet? 
It’s pointless. Any time you restrict yourself, you are setting yourself up for a cycle of failure and guilt. People need to understand that dramatic doesn’t equal effective. On a starvation diet, you will empty your colon and that’s about it. Any diet where your body gets no protein, your body starts eating muscle. Your metabolism slows, and with it, the fat-burning process.

What’s your nutrition philosophy in a nutshell, or eggshell?
 Eliminate sugars and starches. Digestion improves, skin clears up, and you’ll feel and look healthier. It’s so simple. Eat loads of veggies—“Eat the rainbow”—and lean proteins (fish, chicken, turkey, eggs, low fat cheese, and dairy). Protein satiates, balances your blood sugar level, and feeds your muscles. Starches, on the other hand, give you a sugar spike followed by insulin release, and insulin signals your body to store fat. So you get fatter and hungrier. Healthy starches, like lentils, sweet potato, and quinoa, are okay.

What if that feels restrictive? 
Have “cheat meals.” For two meals each week I tell my clients to eat whatever they want. Have two slices of pizza, or a burger and fries. You’ll feel lethargic and gross afterward and you won’t want to do it again. You also won’t feel denied.

What’s your favorite snack food? Please tell me that you have guilty pleasures!
 Low fat string cheese and pepper jack, walnuts, cashews, and almond butter. Also, I love Greek yogurt and it’s a great source of protein. On my “cheat days,” I like to eat thin crust pizza at Bella Vita on 58th Street. If I’m craving sweets, I’ll have some dark chocolate, but not the two bars a day that I used to eat before I became a trainer and nutritionist.

That’s 5 pounds of body fat. Yum!
ARIANE HUNDT’S SIX TIPS FOR MAXIMIZING FAT BURNING

1.) Eat a lean protein (fish, chicken, lean beef, eggs, yogurt or protein powders) at every meal

2.) Aim for 5 small meals a day (of 300 calories)

3.) Eat as many veggies as you can, and focus on the fibrous ones (e.g., broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and greens) that aid digestion

4.) Drink a lot of water. If you’re dehydrated, your metabolism slows down and you’re more prone to hunger, headaches, and fatigue.

5.) Don’t eat any starches after lunchtime, not even the good starches

6.) Take a fish oil supplement. It will reduce inflammation, aid digestion, and improve skin. New Chapter, Carlson’s, and Nordic Naturals have the highest quality ingredients.

FASTING – Why not eating can make you fat!

Q: What is your opinion on fasting? I used to fast and detox, but gained the weight back because I never permanently changed my eating habits due to stress and being busy.

A: Cleanses, fasting and detox diets are fads that come and go. The Master Cleanse was so popular for a while that they even sold the very simple ingredients of maple syrup, lemon juice and cayenne pepper in kits for $20 – really? The Blueprint cleanse is very popular at the moment and many other companies out there make a killing by selling people the quick fix. You can spend $80 a day to have green detox shakes delivered to your door with the promise of losing 10 lbs a week. The truth is that the promised results never last long. Here’s why:

When you look at fasting from a standpoint of health it can be quite helpful to rest your digestion for a day or two. People who fast do lose weight, but the weight loss is a result of losing your bowel contents (at any given time we carry anywhere from 5 to 10lbs of stool in us – I know, nice picture). You also lose water and muscle in the process, which isn’t going to help you long-term.

You can lose muscle quickly if you don’t eat. Your muscles and body need protein at least every 4 hours. If you don’t supply your body with what it needs, it quickly turns to its own protein stores (that would be your guns) for energy. The bad news is that the less muscle you have, the more you slow down your metabolism. Even worse, you’re starving yourself, starving your muscles of protein, drop your blood sugar to ultra-low levels, and deprive your body of important nutrients. Imagine the expense at which you’re striving for weight loss! Do you really think you can live like this long-term?

The pounds you lose will always come right back once you resume eating (your bowel fills up again, you retain water with eating starches) and your metabolism is slower than before because you lost muscle. Ultimately, it’s really a lose-lose situation.

Have you ever looked at the ingredients for these juices that you’re spending your hard-earned money on? They’re typically high in sugar and have no protein at all. Sugar will raise your blood sugar and cause an insulin spike. Insulin tells your body to store fat, so even though you might only be drinking 500 calories worth of juices, you can still put on fat.

You can have faster and long-lasting results if you eat 5 small meals contain protein and veggies. You will be GAINING muscle that makes you leaner and increases your metabolism and fat burning. You’ll be losing fat only, not muscle or water. As a result you’ll be able to maintain your fat loss and look lean and toned without having to cancel all your dinner plans with friends because you’re sucking down a sugary detox drink. What’s even worse: you didn’t learn a thing about how to eat healthy or how to put your body into fat burning mode if you rely on the quick fix. Don’t you want results that last for a lifetime?

FASTING – Why not eating can make you fat!

>Q: What is your opinion on fasting? I used to fast and detox, but gained the weight back because I never permanently changed my eating habits due to stress and being busy.

A: Cleanses, fasting and detox diets are fads that come and go. The Master Cleanse was so popular for a while that they even sold the very simple ingredients of maple syrup, lemon juice and cayenne pepper in kits for $20 – really? The Blueprint cleanse is very popular at the moment and many other companies out there make a killing by selling people the quick fix. You can spend $80 a day to have green detox shakes delivered to your door with the promise of losing 10 lbs a week. The truth is that the promised results never last long. Here’s why:

When you look at fasting from a standpoint of health it can be quite helpful to rest your digestion for a day or two. People who fast do lose weight, but the weight loss is a result of losing your bowel contents (at any given time we carry anywhere from 5 to 10lbs of stool in us – I know, nice picture). You also lose water and muscle in the process, which isn’t going to help you long-term.

You can lose muscle quickly if you don’t eat. Your muscles and body need protein at least every 4 hours. If you don’t supply your body with what it needs, it quickly turns to its own protein stores (that would be your guns) for energy. The bad news is that the less muscle you have, the more you slow down your metabolism. Even worse, you’re starving yourself, starving your muscles of protein, drop your blood sugar to ultra-low levels, and deprive your body of important nutrients. Imagine the expense at which you’re striving for weight loss! Do you really think you can live like this long-term?

The pounds you lose will always come right back once you resume eating (your bowel fills up again, you retain water with eating starches) and your metabolism is slower than before because you lost muscle. Ultimately, it’s really a lose-lose situation.

Have you ever looked at the ingredients for these juices that you’re spending your hard-earned money on? They’re typically high in sugar and have no protein at all. Sugar will raise your blood sugar and cause an insulin spike. Insulin tells your body to store fat, so even though you might only be drinking 500 calories worth of juices, you can still put on fat.

You can have faster and long-lasting results if you eat 5 small meals contain protein and veggies. You will be GAINING muscle that makes you leaner and increases your metabolism and fat burning. You’ll be losing fat only, not muscle or water. As a result you’ll be able to maintain your fat loss and look lean and toned without having to cancel all your dinner plans with friends because you’re sucking down a sugary detox drink. What’s even worse: you didn’t learn a thing about how to eat healthy or how to put your body into fat burning mode if you rely on the quick fix. Don’t you want results that last for a lifetime?