Lisa | LifeBliss Lisa

6 Simple Steps to Gorgeous–No makeup, plastic surgery, or Photoshop necessary.

October 19, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Photo: Matthew Rolston

This photo is featured in O Magazine, of normal size supermodel, Katie Halchishick and founder of Healthy is the New Skinny, posing naked with surgeon’s markings indicating how much of her would need to be chopped off to give her the same proportions as the toy she’s holding. Whaaa?

The same way that greed is the root of evil, negative body image is the root of ugliness. Have you ever witnessed the not-super-attractive woman walk into a room and light it up like a Xmas tree? How does she do it? She does it the same way that so many pretty women make themselves hideous by shlumping around being catty and self loathing. It’s all in your mind’s image of yourself. [Read more...]

Up and Running Again!

October 17, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Hello there. I’ve been away for a while. I didn’t mean to kick you all to the curb but I was busy having my janky old kitchen converted from this:

(that’s my friend Lucy in the pic above–she does not cook but she’s always up in my kitchen, to my delight) to this:

So, now that the work is almost finished, I can focus on creating fresh, decadently nutrilicious meals for the fam. And, I also have space to move about and updated equipment to work with, so I will be hosting my own cooking videos from time to time. Hmm, wondering what I should name the show…suggestions are welcome. Thanks for your patience and stay tuned.

Everyone Can Benefit from a Little Porn

September 2, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Mmmmmm, oh, look at this, in all its fantastical glory! Trust me, you won’t be able to look away for even a brief moment. You want this, yes you do, and you know it! Don’t worry, I promise I will not let your secret out. Get your mind out of the gutter! It’s nutrilicious FOOD porn! Feast your eyes on this fresh colorful and juicy salad I had for dinner last night. Just makes me want to go back for more. Why am I teasing you with food porn? Well, just like the (ahem) other kind of porn this can really get your juices flowing (salivary!). If you want to train your palate to accept, enjoy and savor fresh nutritious plant based foods, you need to look at these items in a certain way. Who would not want to experience this magnificent combination of firm fresh spinach (mostly not visible, on the bottom of the bowl), sweet mango, succulent strawberries, nuts and dried cranberries, topped with a warm and moist grilled salmon filet. The low fat citrus dressing was so delish I asked them for a container to take home with me. I guarantee the most avid nutrition hater would dabble in this beautiful dish.

“Wholesome” Fake Food Makes NO Sense.

September 1, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

The thing speaks for itself:

Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper Wholesome Whole Grain Stroganoff

Ingredients:

Enriched Pasta (Whole Whe

at Flour, Semolina Wheat, Durum Wheat, Vitamin D3, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Corn Starch, Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Whey, Salt, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (Corn, Soy, Wheat), Tomato (Dried), Calcium Carbonate, Artificial Color, Sugar, Lactic Acid, Citric Add, Maltodextrin, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Cottonseed Oil, Mono and Diglycerides, Calcium Lactate, Natural Flavor, Nonfat Milk, Onion Powder, Parsley (Dried), Mushroom Powder, Yeast Extract, Spice, Beef Stock, Mushrooms, Corn Syrup (Dried), Disodium Guanylate, Disodium Inosinate, Whey Protein Concentrate, Lactose, Garlic Powder, Soy Sauce (Soybeans, Wheat, Salt) (Dried), Egg.

Now, the following recipe would take only about 10-15 minutes more than the box crap above if you can buy the meat already cut up or use ground turkey instead. Are you REALLY in that much of a hurry? Seriously?

Simple Beef Stroganoff with Fresh Herbs and Garlic [Read more...]

Exercise Alone will not Make you Pretty, 5 Ways to Shift the Balance

August 24, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

I can feel the controversy brewing already, but I don’t care, this thing needs to be said. I am not bashing exercise. Exercise is ~~good~~ fantastic. I am tired of seeing women who will run 50 miles a day and do yoga 25 times a week but because they don’t take care of their faces, hair, teeth, and posture look like absolute trolls. Skinny trolls. Why? Our society’s obsession with thinness has overshadowed the need to take care of other pertinent things like, oh, faces, teeth, hair, and posture. Our culture is extremely single-minded. Now I am not suggesting that everyone abandon their workouts and be all high maintenance with wigs and weaves, fake lashes and nails, and a ton of makeup. What I do say is that some basic needs must be met if you care at all how you look, and shifting a little of the unhealthy fixation away from being thin will do everyone a lot of good. I promise, a little beauty maintenance will not take significant time away from, or sabotage your excessive workouts to the point that you’ll instantly get fat. Here’s what you can do or pass on if you are one of the skinnyness-compulsed women with deteriorating looks or know someone else who is: [Read more...]

8 Ways to Cut Sugar without Pain and Suffering

August 22, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Sugar is toxic, you’re gonna diiiiiiie! It causes cancer, diabetes, obesity, liver disease, tooth rot, ugliness, hair loss, etc. I know, you don’t want to hear all that alarmist propaganda again. I will say, however, that sugar is in just about every single processed food item sold in the U.S., and therefore, if you are eating anything more than a tiny amount of processed foods, chances are, your sugar intake is way too high. The science has already been written on this topic and I am not interested in rehashing. We all can agree though, that our sugar intake needs to be reduced.

By sugar I am talking about all sweeteners, even natural honey, molasses, agave, high fructose corn syrup, fructose, sucrose, etc. According to the World Health Organization, based on a diet of 2,000 daily calories, no more than 50 grams of sugar should be consumed per day.

Start slow and gradually cut the sugar intake to an acceptable level. Here are a few ways to reduce sugar in the diet with minimal drama and discomfort: [Read more...]

Just Like with Money, You Gotta Spend Energy to Make Energy

August 10, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

On my way to work I always see tired looking overweight people lumbering painfully through the Metro stations, up and down the stairs, and on the streets. It made me think: what came first, their chronic fatigue or lack of exercise? I know, I think way too much. But I know for myself that when I was heavier, which was because I wasn’t being active, I had way less energy. But now that I’m moving and dancing and exercising regularly, I have energy to burn (except at bedtime). Well, it turns out that burning energy creates energy. According to a study published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics in 2008, University of Georgia researchers found that inactive folks who normally complained of fatigue could increase energy by 20% while decreasing fatigue by as much as 65% by simply participating in regular, low-intensity exercise. I read on WebMD that:

“Contrary to popular belief, exercising doesn’t make you tired — it literally creates energy in your body. [Read more...]

Fantastically Effective, No Frills, No Bull Crap Skin Care Products Available Now!

July 4, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Say Hello to your New Paula’s Choice Beauty Consultant. This is some good stuff. Now you can get it from me, with no shipping costs.

What is Paula’s Choice?

Paula’s Choice is a no-frills, no-bull crap skin care line that I’ve been using for several years. Paula’s Choice products successfully treat everything from acne to wrinkles, rosacea, sensitive skin, sun damage, dry skin, oily skin, and blackheads. All of Paula’s Choice products are fragrance-free, colorant-free, and don’t contain any unnecessary or irritating ingredients.

The line was developed by Paula Begoun, aka The Cosmetics Cop, author of Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, Blue Eyeshadow Should Be Illegal, The Original Beauty Bible, and Don’t Go Shopping for Hair-Care Products Without Me. Paula’s books have sold more than 2.5 million copies worldwide. Her work as a nationally-recognized consumer expert for the cosmetics industry has led to repeat appearances on CNN, as well as programs such as Oprah, The Today Show, 20/20, Dateline NBC, The View, and Dr. Oz. [Read more...]

FREE Bellydance Classes Continue Through July

July 3, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Join me for some fun! I love dancing, I want to do more dancing, and I really want to share the joy of bellydance with you. So for the entire month of July, all bellydance classes are free. However, there is a catch: Since we are doing some construction that may effect the studio, the classes are subject to cancellation. You must confirm by email me the day before or of the class.

Bring a friend or two! We will cover bellydance basics, strength and conditioning, and improvisation jams. You also work on accepting your beauty, tapping into your femininity, and loving your body. All levels are welcome. If you have been thinking of taking bellydance classes with me, NOW is the time give it a try.

Classes will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays (don’t forget to double check) starting Thursday July 7th.

I’m Giving FREE Bellydance Classes! But First…(Long Story)

June 7, 2011 By Lisa 2 Comments

Secret Confessions of a wellness consultant

I am a wellness consultant/coach. I help people how to lose weight and/or get healthy without strict diets or extreme or monotonous exercise. I have plenty of sound knowledge on the matter, and yet from time to time I forget to follow my own brilliant advice and when that happens, things go terribly awry, like this:

See, wha-haa-haapened-wuz…

Last winter (Around December 2009) I decided that I was a little too plump (photo on right is in January 2010) and that I should lose some weight. I wanted to look good for an event in the summer. I ran outside in the snow. I was a maniac, not because I ran in the snow, but I just was. I became obsessive. Now of course by mid-June I was looking nice and slim and that was it. I stopped everything. I drank wine and ate cheez balls on the sofa. I got addicted to cookies again. Over the time when I was exercising I had been experiencing increasing knee pain. I just thought it was the cold air giving me that rusty feeling and kept on going. We had a blazin’ hot summer last year. So the pain got worse and I didn’t run outside, didn’t join a gym, didn’t do yoga regularly, and all but stopped dancing. So BAM! the weight all came back by October. That’s insane because it was about 25 pounds! [Read more...]

Guest Post at Leaving Fatville

May 25, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Leaving Fatville is a fantastic blog about weight loss and life:

60 pounds gone, a whole lot more to go! Follow me on this crazy road trip to learn how to be healthy and happy! (Not hungry!)

Be sure to stick around and check out her other posts. They are very informative and entertaining.

Struggling with Weight? Try a Food Attitude Adjustment

What the Hell is a “Bikini Body” Anyway?

May 24, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

I’ve been thinking about this issue for a while. Last season I did an experiment. I wanted to see whether a bikini would be more flattering to my relatively fit, hereditarily round bellied body. My reasoning was that despite the taboo of anybody bigger than a bone can possibly be acceptable in a bikini, in some cases it’s better because tankinis ride up (and the belly pops out) and one piece swimsuits are a hassle. I started writing about it but never published. I planned to talk about objectivity when it comes to determining what actually looks good on a particular body. I also wanted to address the fact that in most other cultures and parts of the world, a swimsuit is not a thing that induces suicidal thoughts, but a utilitarian garment to be used to swim in, with no emotional baggage involved. Lastly, I wanted to discuss the whole ridiculous notion of a “bikini body”, a highly specific and narrow set of characteristics considered bikini acceptable. Ophira, of Adios Barbie beat me to the bikini discussion so I wanted to share it with you. Let me know what you think.

“Bikini Bodies” & The Ugh of Swimsuit Season

For years, I dreaded the arrival of spring magazines, knowing they’d be filled with pages of flirty, colorful and teeny bikinis fitted to fat-free model bodies. I was a girl with cellulite, Beyonce thighs (when she’s eating her favorite southern dishes, that is) and a tum that more than coquettishly peeped over the waistband of any bikini bottom. Well into my 20s, my beach uniform was always a one-piece, usually topped by an oversized T-shirt or tank top and shorts. I hated that moment when everyone sat down and disrobed, casually eyeing how the others looked nearly-naked, our brains registering a comparison to the culture’s ideal. The pressure of exposing my body in public was enough to convince even a sun- and sand-lover like me to stay on the cement.

I had an epiphany at 27, when I decided to say “f— it” and wear a size-16 bikini. Proudly. Publicly. I called myself a “body outlaw” and held my head high. Hey world, here’s a body you don’t usually see in a swimsuit. Get used to it. [Read more...]

I’m Bringing Back Tantra!

May 13, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

(No! Not the freaky naked hairy people running around in the woods weird thing you saw on HBO Real Sex)

So, everybody can do one of three things:

This is NOT what we do here!

Jump right in and join me by interacting online and/or attending my workshops or free seminars (to come);
Safely explore this complex topic from the sidelines by reading more of these posts and trying techniques on your own to learn how to make life more fun, meaningful, and delicious;
Run away, chicken! You are not comfortable with this sorta (but not really) woo-woo stuff and feel that Lisa is a crazified loon who is hell bent on living a fully connected life and being too footloose and fancy free of cultural constraints.

So there. If you want to know exactly what tantra is go here. [Read more...]

Happy Mother’s Day. Enjoy a (Guilt-Free) Piece of this Every Day.

May 8, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good. ~ Dr. Seuss, One Fish, Two Fish

I hope all the mommies are laughing, relaxing, and thoroughly enjoying themselves. But today is no different than any other. Ok, maybe our culture does not exactly accept that we all like to laze around on the sofa, sleep for hours in a hammock, enjoy a yoga or dance class, or eat chocolate chip cookies for breakfast. But be for real! That does not mean that you must live your entire life like a miserable mommyfied martyr.

It is important that there is time each and every day for us to experience some pleasure. Otherwise we may burn out, feel resentful, or lose ourselves in what some other people’s constructed ideas of what motherhood should be. [Read more...]

Food Love Sundays: Quinoa Tabouli Salad

May 1, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

This is a Lebanese dish altered to contain more protein, and for those who don’t like the taste of bulgur wheat. This is a cool and refreshing treat for a warm spring or summer day. To add an extra-nutrient kick, serve wrapped in romaine lettuce instead of pita bread or over a bed of fresh raw spinach.

You’ll need:

* 2 cups water
* 1 cup quinoa
* 1 pinch salt
* ~~1/4 cup~~ 2tbsp olive oil
* 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
* ~~1/4 cup~~ 3 tbsp lemon juice
* 3 tomatoes, diced
* 1 cucumber, diced
* 1 bunch green onions, diced
* 2 carrots, grated
* 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

1. In a saucepan bring water to a boil. Add quinoa and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature; fluff with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine olive oil, sea salt, lemon juice, tomatoes, cucumber, green onions, carrots and parsley. Stir in cooled quinoa.

How Many Times Have you been Back to the Drawing Board?

April 16, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

No, I’m not talking about drafting. I’m talking about revising your eating and movement plan. I do this every few years. First I’m looking good and feeling fit and then BAM! the weight starts piling on again, despite the fact that I’m doing pretty much the same thing I had been doing for years. Everything had been fine when I watched what I ate on weekdays and indulged in some junk food on the weekends. At some point my pants got too tight. WTH? Well, I hate to be the bringer of bad news but the truth is, things change. Naturally.

Change is Natural

Nutritional needs change, movement ability changes, metabolism changes, tastes change, and caloric necessities change over time. So what worked five years ago to keep you slim and trim may not work at all now. So what do we do? Change. We have to build on the knowledge we already gained from our bodies and make educated guesses until we get the formula right. For example, I know that because of my family history, I am predisposed to diabetes. In my case sugar and refined starches are usually the culprit for unwanted weight gain. Instinctively I know I must cut back on breads and sweets to slim down. I find that the older I get the more I must cut back, dammit! [Read more...]

Nutritional Density: Let me break it on down (Part 4) Broccoli has More Protein than Beef, Key to Weight Loss

April 11, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Let me explain. Right now I am reading a great book (review to come) about nutrition. I have been studying nutrition since I was around six years old, when I found my then university student mom’s books. I was a bookworm and a budding foodie back then. I thought I knew all about nutrition until I read this way of measuring nutritional values and making comparisons.

When measuring the amount of a nutrient in a food based on equal volumes or weights of the food, we don’t get an accurate picture. Instead, if we measure the nutrients in the foods based on a set number of calories, there is a better idea of what to eat. For example, did you know that 100 calories worth of broccoli contains more protein than 100 calories worth of beef? How about 5 grams more! The catch is that 100 calories worth of broccoli is a lot. Maybe 3-4 times more than the portion that would be served in a typical restaurant meal. 100 calories worth of beef is tiny. [Read more...]

Food Love Sundays: Super-muffins!

April 10, 2011 By Lisa 5 Comments

This recipe is a pumped-up, slimmed down version of my already nutritious banana blueberry muffins. Just try this and give it to your kids, they’ll have no clue that these fiber-rich are muffins are very low in sugar, lower in fat, and full of what? Vegetables! Bwuaaaahahahaha! My daughter’s school friends beg for these delicious muffins that taste kinda like zucchini bread:

1/2 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
2 eggs or 1/2 cup egg substitute
1 and a half cup pureed fresh raw zucchini
1/4 cup Splenda/sugar blend*** or 1/2 cup raw sugar
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raw chopped (matchstick style) carrots
1 cup fresh blueberries
3 tbsp ground flaxseeds
2 cups white 100% whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger

[Read more...]

Much Ado about some Tween Pushup Bikini Tops

March 28, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Why is everybody so up in arms? You didn’t see this coming? I did. Big corporations are out do do only one thing: make money, by any means necessary. If that requires making women and little girls feel inadequate, so they’ll feel as though they desperately NEED certain products, then so be it. Look at the advertisements. Abercrombie isn’t even the worst. Have you seen those American Eagle Outfitter ads on the back of magazines, posing pre-bloom girls like little sex kittens-in-training? Have you ever passed by Limited Too, with the grown looking miniature outfits?

Take Control!

So you cry, you call the news, you make a big deal, but all that is completely unnecessary. Just don’t buy it. As a matter of fact, don’t even shop there anymore. So I hear that it’s just not so easy because our daughters beg and plead for the those expensive rags? It’s not enough to just say no. It is very important to help our girls understand why this is not good for them.