Cold and flu season is here, so why not create a “sadhana” (daily practice) to help ward off any bugs intent on taking up residence in your body?

First order of business, cultivate good habits that promote a healthy immune system.

Second, learn to manage your stress and keep a postive outlook–your emotional state has as much to do with your physical health as do invading viruses and bateria.

Here’s How:

*Get a good night’s sleep. Research shows that not getting enough sleep is as bad as unrelenting stress. Aim to be in bed by ten o’clock and up by sixish.

*Eat foods that are high in fiber and low in fat and contain plenty of omega-3 fatty acids-for example, wild salmon, ground flaxseeds walnuts chia seeds, or hemp seed.

*Add fruits and veggies rich in antioxidants to help stimulate your immune system.

*Walk, jog, ride your bike 0r any exercise will increase immune function and make you feel happier.

*Go upside down every day. Include headstand, shoulder stand, plough pose, or downward-facing dog in your yoga practice. Strong immunity depends on good circulation; inversions are yoga’s fight to your immune system.

*Get outside. Listen to birds sing; watch a sunset; take a stroll in the park. Being in nature can be calming and nurturing.

*Practice loving-kindness toward yourself and others, count your blessings, and don’t forget to laugh out loud-every day!

I wrote this post is to share with you a basic overview of what I did to lose ALL my baby weight in just 3 months!

Keep in mind that every body is different and unique. Listen to your body, the signs it sends you. The take home message for diet is to eat for nutrients, not to worry so much about calories. If you eat nutrient dense foods, you will be full and satiated for longer.

I’m not saying calories don’t matter. They do. Calories in have to be less than calories out to lose weight. My point is that if you chose more nutrient-dense foods, your body will be more satiated and you won’t have as many cravings or be as hungry.

Diet: what did I eat?

lots of veggies!

Here’s what I do as far as eating goes. The proof is in the raw-pudding! Remember that when you’re breastfeeding, you need to get at least 500 extra calories per day to support your milk production and the health of your baby. Don’t worry, you burn it during breast feeding! (about 500 calories/day) The rule of thumb when you’re eating is to think about NUTRIENTS not just energy/calories. Ask yourself what NUTRIENTS are in your meal, not just putting empty calories into your body. For example, when reaching for a snack, don’t eat 5 rice crackers because they are low in calories, eat an apple and a handful of almonds because then you’re getting vitamins, fiber, protein and good fats. (and you’ll stay fuller longer!)

Some bullet points of what I’ve been doing in any given day:

*Every day I get some raw juice or smoothie. 4-5 days a week I get a green vegetable juice, and every single day I make a Super-Mommy-Power smoothie. I also have 1-2 coconut waters per day-I feel so dehydrated from breastfeeding that coconut water is really the only thing that quenches that thirst.

Here’s a recipe I make variations of just about every day:

Super-Mommy-Power Smoothie

• 1 Cup Almond, Rice or Hemp Milk/Coconut Water
• 2 teaspoons maca (excellent for energy and to balance crazy mommy hormones!)
• 1 tablespoon cacao powder (chocolate in it’s most raw form, super high in antioxidants!)
• 1 tablespoon coconut butter or almond butter (both have GOOD fats and are good for skin, nails, etc)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil (speeds up metabolism) or flax oil (omega-3)
• 1 scoop raw protein powder (keeps me full for longer, no soy or whey)
• 1 banana (tip: after bananas get ripe, put them in Tupperware or a Ziploc in the freezer for easy smoothie access!)
• 2 teaspoons spirulina (blue-green algae, great for iron and protein)
• 1 tablespoon agave or 2 drops of chocolate stevia
• 1 handful of ice

top with goji berries and granola! (this smoothie also satisfies my cravings for sugar and  chocolate… only this is all the right stuff!)

*once or twice a week I get animal protein. Free range, Hormone-Free, Organic steak or fish. I’m not much of a chicken/turkey person but I learned to really like steak during my pregnancy. I’ve always loved fish. I add greens and veggies to every meal. Make sure you get double the veggies vs quantity of protein. We eat sushi A LOT, but make sure if you’re going this route that you don’t just get rolls-lots of white rice/empty calories. Try and get some sushi or sashimi so you get more protein and less rice. Use the green lid soy sauce (lower in sodium) and don’t use a lot of that either! you only need a little bit, especially if the fish is fresh! I also always get a seaweed salad which is excellent for digestion, iron and calcium.

sprout salad with veggie buger

*I eat a huge spinach or mixed green salad for lunch almost every day-lots of sprouted seeds, nuts and beans to get as much protein as possible. I add a veggie burger to the salad also and use lots of flax oil and/or olive oil for the good fats. (tip: good fats get rid of bad fats, we NEED good fats for our brain and body functioning!)

*I always have snacks with me in the diaper bag or in my purse, I usually snack on 1 protein bar every day and some type of trail mix I make. My favorite blend is a trail mix with: cashews, goji berries, dark chocolate covered cacao nibs, soaked almonds, sprouted pumpkin seeds, sprouted sunflowers seeds.

I found during these months that I would get FAMISHED If i didn’t eat every 2-3 hours. If I waited more than 3 I thought I would die. DON’T get to this point! You are exerting so much energy taking care of the baby, nursing, etc… never mind if you get an exercise in TOO! Besides, when you let your blood sugar drop this low it does crazy things to your metabolism and your body goes into starvation-fat-protection mode, aka something you don’t want.

Exercise/Body/Fitness

The first 2 weeks I was very gentle with my body and focused on bonding with my baby.I was eating very healthy and nourishing foods and was wiped out from the surgery.

The 3rd and 4th week I got to WORK! I worked with a friend of mine who’s also a personal trainer twice a week to start building strength, but mostly to build my confidence. I was scared at first to do anything ab related (since I had a c-section) but he quickly and safely helped conquer this fear as well.

Each session I felt stronger and stronger. We mostly used resistance bands or exercises using my own body weight (like plank, pushups, yoga) so you don’t need a gym to lose weight! Here’s a great workout you can do at home in place of the training session I did.

Some people don’t think exercise makes a difference. What I know is that I feel better when I exercise than when I don’t, and I’m more mindful of the food I’m putting into my body when I do. Also, when you look at the calories in vs calories out rule, it means you have more wiggle room in the calories in.  Works for me!

Here’s what my work-out/exercise schedule basically looked like:

Monday-walk outside with baby/hubby/doggy for 30 minutes, baby squats and baby abs (see pics below) for 10 minutes

Tuesday-30-45 min with my trainer, Trent (resistance bands, kettlebells, light weights, light cardio, ab work)

Wednesday- Yoga class 60-90 minutes

Thursday- 30-45 min with my trainer, Trent (resistance bands, kettlebells, light weights, light cardio, ab work)

Friday- off day, maybe some baby exercises while holding him and/or some stretching/yoga while watching tv

Saturday-walk outside with baby/hubby/doggy for 30 minutes, baby squats and baby abs for 10 minutes -or- Yoga class

Sunday-walk outside with baby/hubby/doggy for 30 minutes, baby squats and baby abs for 10 minutes

baby sit ups!

On the days I’d walk outside with Kai in the stroller I usually took the dog too. Sometimes my hubby would join. But those were days I set out with an intention to be out for 30 minutes for exercise, so I’d walk a little faster than a normal walk. On other days I still would walk the dog but I didn’t count it as exercise.

I also didn’t count walking around in general, carrying the car seat everywhere, carrying 3 bags around plus baby, cleaning, standing, etc. I considered all of this stuff bonus, plus it speeds up your metabolism to be active.

It’s been so much fun using Kai in my exercises, especially because he LOVES IT! (see pics and video to come!)

I’ve now lost ALL MY BABY WEIGHT, and it took 3 months! This

3 months post-pregnancy

is definitely something I wanted to share with you, since many moms are nervous it will take them a whole year to lose their weight. Some people say “give it a year, they were in your body for 9 months it should take that long to lose it.” I don’t agree. I definitely worked hard, but in my opinion, if you worked half as hard as I did you should lose your baby weight in 6 months, tops. I think a huge factor in my ability to jump back into a workout routine was that I exercised up until the last possible second in pregnancy, so my “off time” was only about 4-5 weeks total, not 9 months. If you ARE pregnant, check out my article about pregnancy and exercise. Thanks for reading and GOOD LUCK! let me know how it goes, share your stories with me!

This is an awesome video about this athletes story- huge healthy shift: eating a plant based diet.

Plant based diet is when a person gets the majority of their nutrients from plants (fruit, vegetables, seeds, nuts, crops)

Look at how great he looks, feels and how energetic he is! This is how I feel every day (when I eat mindfully). When I eat too many meat/dairy products, I feel weighed down and lethargic. It’s so important to notice how you feel and react to different foods! Every person is unique and there’s a perfect balance for each of us. It’s your job to start to tune in and really listen to what your body needs and DOESN’T need!

Here’s the video:

video

let me know your thoughts!

Hi Philosophie Lovers!

For the Holiday Season, I challenge you to stay HEALTHY and FIT versus pack on a new layer of warmth!

How you may ask?

With consistent help, advice, pointers and recipes of course! It’s so much easier to achieve your goals with a support system in place. We will also have a private Philosophie Holiday Health Challenge facebook group where we can all talk about challenges we face, exchange recipes and tips and converse about living the Philosophie lifestyle!

I will send out daily email tips, feedback, questions and advice along with NEVER BEFORE SEEN recipes, workouts and techniques exclusive to this program to aid in your weight loss vs weight gain!

If you sign up NOW (within the next 48 hours) your Challenge price will be $48. (after 48 hours it will be $75)

To commit to this Holiday Health Challenge and stay TRUE to your best self, email: Sophie@thephilosophie.com with the subject line: I COMMIT TO MY HEALTH!

Why wait til after New Years to drop that extra weight? Let’s all start 2011 feeling fresh, rejuvenated and LIGHTER than when the holidays began!

TO HEALTH AND BALANCE!

Sophie

*the only requirement is that you have a blender, access to fresh veggies and fruit and daily internet connection!

I COMMIT!

in the next 48 hrs! $48.00 after 48 hrs $75.00 Option 3 $48.00

To lose weight in a healthy manner and keep it off for life, you need to work hard and work smart. I want to share Livestrong.com’s advice for weightloss. Four lifestyle modifications are useful — the meal replacement strategy, meal timing, aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise. Your weight loss program will not work over the long term if it is a one-shot project. It must be a permanent lifestyle change.

The Weight Loss Equation

There is no magic to weight loss, asserts Vanderbilt University. Weight loss occurs when you burn more calories than you take in by eating. Your body burns calories in three ways — by exercise, by heat generation and by performing basic metabolic functions, such as breathing. You can directly control how much you eat and how much you exercise. You can indirectly control how many calories your body uses to perform basic metabolic functions by building muscle mass.

The Meal Replacement Strategy

Pay attention to the content of the food you eat more so than the volume of food that you eat, advises Penn State Strength Fitness. This is because nutritious food usually contains fewer calories per unit of volume than unhealthy food, because a nutritious diet will ensure that the weight you lose is fat instead of muscle, and because a low-volume diet will leave you constantly hungry. Focus on gradually replacing entire categories of food with more nutritious categories. Replace sweets with fruits, for example, red meat with chicken, and french fries with rice. A great TOOL for managing your food/caloric intake is myplate on the Livestrong website.

Weight Training

Weight training is anaerobic, because it relies on short, intense bursts of energy that do not consistently raise your heart rate into the aerobics zone. Weight training can support a weight loss program by permanently raising your resting metabolic rate, according to the Valley Medical Center of Renton, Wash. A high resting metabolic rate causes your body to burn more calories 24 hours a day, simply to keep you alive. Furthermore, since many of the calories you consume will be used to repair muscle tissue that you break down during a weight training workout, fewer calories are available to be stored as fat. If you control your calorie intake and eat nutritiously, any weight gain caused by new muscle mass will be more than outweighed by the fat that you will lose.

Meal Timing

Eating six small meals a day instead of three supports a weight training program by supplying your body with just the right amount of nutrients when it needs them, according to the American Dietetic Association. Eat slowly, so that your brain will tell your stomach it’s not hungry anymore in time for you to stop eating. Eat a low-fat meal high in protein immediately after a weight-training workout.

Aerobics

Aerobic exercise helps you lose weight because you increase your calorie expenditure while you exercise. Select an enjoyable activity (walking, jogging, biking, yoga, dancing, swimming) that raises your heart rate to between 60 and 80 percent of its maximum, advises the Cleveland Clinic, and perform it for 30 to 60 minutes per workout, three to seven days a week. To find your approximate maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220.

Exercising is a vital part to life, and that definitely doesn’t stop when you become pregnant!

Just because you’re a waddling woman with a big belly and back pain doesn’t entitle you to skip this healthy regiment. Being active doesn’t mean going to a gym necessarily, but you must get your butt moving for at least 30 minutes almost every single day. This can be walking for 30 minutes with your dog in the afternoon or breaking it up- 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes after dinner. You can go on a bike ride, go swimming or participate in a yoga class.

What Not to Do…for a safe pregnancy

Obviously be smart about what type of exercise you choose. Clearly, football, soccer, softball, horseback riding, gymnastics, kickboxing, downhill skiing, hockey, cross fit, plyometrics and the like should be avoided for a safe pregnancy. Use your head-nothing that will hurt the baby by hitting your stomach, shaking the baby or risking injury of falling.

Benefits to Exercise During Pregnancy

Exercise can be invaluable in making your pregnancy healthy and happy. For starters, it can help with constipation, backache, fatigue, and varicose veins. And not only can it aid in improving your sleep, but it also reduces the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and anxiety. (“Why Exercise During Pregnancy?” womenshealth.gov)

As if that all wasn’t enough, Active women have shorter labors, easier deliveries, quicker recovery times, and can be into shape faster postpartum. (Snuggs, Exercise and Pregnancy, suite101.com) And of course, what’s good for mom is good for baby. Exercise gets the blood circulating, which positively affects the placenta (which gives baby oxygen and nutrients). (Booth and Alpino, Exercise during pregnancy helps you stay healthy” babyfit.com)

Talk to you Doctor before

No matter what your activity preference may be, just be sure to verify whatever you chose with your midwife or doctor before starting. There are a few cases when it could be unsafe including: carrying twins or more, risk of premature labor, heart or lung disease, bleeding, ruptured membranes, placenta previa, (“Why exercise during pregnancy” womenshealth.com) complications with past pregnancies, severe diabetes, seizure disorders, asthma, anemia, muscle or joint problems, repeated C sections, previous miscarriage, a sedentary lifestyle or if you’re extremely over or underweight. (“exercising while you’re pregnant” babyfit.com)

HYDRATION!

Assuming you’re in the clear with your doc, remember to drink plenty of water before, during, and after working out. You’ll need more water than you think you need. It’s also more difficult to manage your body now with your big belly, big boobs and your imbalance! So be cautious and go slower than you think you need to until you get used to this new body. Patience is key here (biggest lesson I’ve learned during this process!)

FLEXIBILITY

All of your ligaments and joints are looser than ever, allowing your body to expand for the growing baby and uterus. Overstretching will not do you any good. And neither will lying flat on your back. After sixteen weeks, avoid doing any exercise that has you in that position. The weight of your newly heavy uterus on a major blood vessel can affect blood flow to the placenta. Not cool. Be careful when stretching and doing yoga!

#1: Sticking to Cardio Only

Women especially tend to camp out in the cardio section for their whole workout.  It may the fear of bulk (which we all know now is crazy talk) or it may just be because you prefer cardio, but cardio is only half the picture. It is true that if you are trying to lose weight, cardio should be your number one focus, but without building muscles, you will still be flabby- you’ll just weigh less. (trainers call these girls “skinny fat”) Muscle also boosts metabolism, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn through out the day, even at rest. You should strength train a minimum of 2-3 times per week, allowing at least 24 hours of rest in between workouts so your muscles can repair themselves.

#2 Always Using Machines

Machines serve their purpose: they’re pretty self-explanatory, and, well, that’s about it! If you are trying to learn the form of an exercise, machines are a great way to get used to the proper feeling. However, they only work one muscle group at a time, and since they keep you in proper form, your stabilizing muscles don’t get a chance to work along with the primary muscle.  The problem with that is when you go to use that muscle in real life, the other muscles that help it out aren’t as strong, therefore hindering your performance.  Free weights allow you to multitask, making for a shorter workout (squats with bicep curls) allows you to burn more calories. Training your body in the way it is designed to move, through free space, as with dumbbells and cable machines, is going to use more muscles, and produce greater results.

#3 Not Having a Plan

Time is very important to everyone and I’m always overhearing people talking about the lack of time they have. An easy way to avoid wasting time and energy during workouts is to come with plan. Write it down or mentally come prepared so you can quickly move from one exercise to the next without meandering and make sure you hit every muscle group instead of winging it. This also helps if you’re at the gym during busy hours, you can easily move on to your next exercise without hovering.  A personal trainer is a great tool to jump-start your program. They’ll create a customized & progressive plan for you based on your goals and may show you exercises you haven’t thought of.

#4 Doing the Same Routine Over and Over Again

A plan is important, but switching it up is paramount. Your body is smart, but also lazy! If it can figure out what you are going to have it do, because you’ve had it do the same routine for the past 3 months, its going to figure out how to do it with the least amount of energy possible: this is called a plateau and can be very frustrating.  I’m sure you or someone you know has experienced this, “I’ve been going to the gym 6x a week now for 3 months now and my body hasn’t changed!” Switching up your routine every 3-4 weeks will keep your body guessing and keep the results rolling. Changes can be in the actual exercises or equipment or as simple as weight, sets or reps. It’s best to change 1 or 2 variables!

Hope this helps

I’ve heard so many horror stories about yoga teachers and personal trainers (or not) taking their students or clients to unsafe territories in their bodies.

Working out isn’t supposed to make you want to throw up, and yoga isn’t supposed to hurt. Practicing it is supposed to make you feel better, but doing it wrong is just dangerous.

After being a personal trainer at Equinox in Santa Monica and working as a yoga teacher at several studios including a gym, I’ve seen it all. Students wobble into class injured, saying they can hardly walk due to an injury from their last class. I’ve had students not come to my class for months because of an injury they received after going to another yoga class that took them far beyond their capabilities. Obviously, this is all subjective and students/clients should monitor their own bodies. But seriously, some teachers are out of control. I’ve heard about a certain incredibly famous power yoga teacher actually popping a students rib out of place from pressing too hard on his back. Some teachers assist and have no proper training in how to do so. Not cool.

Weekend Warriors

Often times people get hurt because they assume that yoga is simple and that anybody can pretzel himself or herself on demand. Edward Toriello, an orthopedic surgeon and spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons says, most of the injuries he sees are sustained by “weekend warrior” baby boomers who being yoga or work outs without realizing that their bodies are no longer what they used to be.”They think yoga is an easy way to start exercises, so they go to class once a week, not stretched out at all and they get hurt.”

Same goes for cardio and especially for weight lifting. I had many clients who insisted on benching more weight “because it’s what they did in college” but what they don’t realize, is that they aren’t that person anymore. That’s when they get injured and then have to lay off exercise for weeks to properly heal.  Functional strength training is much more effective for optimal results.

Legit?

Part of the problem is that increasingly, the people teaching yoga don’t know enough about it. Yoga was traditionally taught one-on-one, over many years. Today’s instructors can take a yoga teacher training course in just one weekend. Luckily, to be in the Yoga Alliance (formed in 1999) has set a minimum of 200 hours for instructors to be certified. Unfortunately, only 16,168 of the over 70,000 yoga teachers are actually in the Yoga Alliance. This is a very pertinent issue, especially when it comes to injury.

Wherever you chose to practice or work out, studio, gym or with a personal trainer at the beach, just make sure you listen to your own body and take care of yourself. If you don’t, nobody else can be expected to. Warm up before activity/exercise, then stretch when muscles are warm, and stretch for a longer amount of time after activities. For Weekend Warriors, if you can’t get to the gym other than weekends, be sure to stretch during the week for 10-15 minutes… it will make a world of difference! And If something hurts... stop doing it!

I’ve heard so many horror stories about yoga teachers and personal trainers (or not) taking their students or clients to unsafe territories in their bodies.

Working out isn’t supposed to make you want to throw up, and yoga isn’t supposed to hurt. Practicing it is supposed to make you feel better, but doing it wrong is just dangerous.

After being a personal trainer at Equinox in Santa Monica and working as a yoga teacher at several studios including a gym, I’ve seen it all. Students wobble into class injured, saying they can hardly walk due to an injury from their last class. I’ve had students not come to my class for months because of an injury they received after going to another yoga class that took them far beyond their capabilities. Obviously, this is all subjective and students/clients should monitor their own bodies. But seriously, some teachers are out of control. I’ve heard about a certain incredibly famous power yoga teacher actually popping a students rib out of place from pressing too hard on his back. Some teachers assist and have no proper training in how to do so. Not cool.

Weekend Warriors

Often times people get hurt because they assume that yoga is simple and that anybody can pretzel himself or herself on demand. Edward Toriello, an orthopedic surgeon and spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons says, most of the injuries he sees are sustained by “weekend warrior” baby boomers who being yoga or work outs without realizing that their bodies are no longer what they used to be.”They think yoga is an easy way to start exercises, so they go to class once a week, not stretched out at all and they get hurt.”

Same goes for cardio and especially for weight lifting. I had many clients who insisted on benching more weight “because it’s what they did in college” but what they don’t realize, is that they aren’t that person anymore. That’s when they get injured and then have to lay off exercise for weeks to properly heal.  Functional strength training is much more effective for optimal results.

Legit?

Part of the problem is that increasingly, the people teaching yoga don’t know enough about it. Yoga was traditionally taught one-on-one, over many years. Today’s instructors can take a yoga teacher training course in just one weekend. Luckily, to be in the Yoga Alliance (formed in 1999) has set a minimum of 200 hours for instructors to be certified. Unfortunately, only 16,168 of the over 70,000 yoga teachers are actually in the Yoga Alliance. This is a very pertinent issue, especially when it comes to injury.

Wherever you chose to practice or work out, studio, gym or with a personal trainer at the beach, just make sure you listen to your own body and take care of yourself. If you don’t, nobody else can be expected to. Warm up before activity/exercise, then stretch when muscles are warm, and stretch for a longer amount of time after activities. For Weekend Warriors, if you can’t get to the gym other than weekends, be sure to stretch during the week for 10-15 minutes… it will make a world of difference! And If something hurts... stop doing it!

Here are my Specials for the month of December. (Dec 3-25)

1. Yoga Challenge: How much yoga can you do in 22 days??

• feel more flexible within 3 sessions, more balanced & less stress within 1 session
• everyone can benefit from yoga-whether you are healing from an injury, trying to lose weight, gain strength, if you are new to the practice or feel intimidated by yoga: these private , one on one sessions will give you confidence and eliminate these blocks to a successful practice
• I come to your house with everything we need for the class.
  

*The first session is regular price of $60. Each session within the same week gets cut by $5. (HUGE SAVINGS!!!!!!!)

2. Philosophie Customized Cleanse: find a friend, roommate or co-worker to experience it together… Save $30!

• feel more energetic, more mental clarity, focus
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• includes personal consultation and delivery
• see what other cleansers have said about their experience: http://www.thephilosophie.com/philosophie/philosophie-testimonials/
  

*$30 off 2 purchased 3-day cleanses (3-day cleanse: $300; must have same start and ending date)

3. Health Consulting: don’t live in Los Angeles? (or even if you do!)

• Trying to take gluten or dairy out of your life and need some help?
• transitioning to a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle and looking for alternatives?
• curious about macrobiotic, body ecology or the raw diet?
• want a cleanse or workout plan designed especially for you??
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email: Sophie@thephilosophie.com to BOOK YOUR CLEANSE OR YOGA SESSIONS TODAY!!!