Health | LifeBliss Lisa

The Number One Super Secret Magical Feel Good Look Good Solution!

May 10, 2012 By Lisa

It doesn’t matter how much or little weight you want to lose. It doesn’t matter if you run marathons every week or walk around the block once a day. I don’t care if you are a young-un or if you’re older than Methuselah! No matter what your condition or ambition, there is one most important thing you need to incorporate into whatever your plan may be.

While this important thing is not the onliest thing we need for overall well-being it is one of the top two things that are just not negotiable. Substitutions don’t suffice. The sooner we all accept this thing, the better, healthier, more vibrant, energetic, and beautiful we will all become.

It’s not a pill, it’s not a potion, or a gadget. What is it!? It is a fairly simple and easy to access item. It’s plants. Nutrient dense, high fiber plants.

Eating plants is the answer. But wait, don’t go away yet, keep on reading! (WARNING: Food porn ahead) I do not promote vegetarianism, veganism, raw veganism, or any other ism for that matter, but I have nothing against them. I believe that it just doesn’t need to be that complicated. A mainly (90%) plant based diet (which includes unprocessed vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains) is the answer to pretty much all diet-related ailments. And all this plant eating can be done with great pleasure. Sadly, the average American diet is made up of less than 15% unprocessed plant based foods. All of this translates to: we need to eat lots and lots more vegetables. Vegetables pack the most nutritional punch without breaking the calorie bank. Fruits come in second, since fructose adds calories.

Vegetables don’t need to be those horrible, gray, soggy, salty canned crap many of us were force fed as children. I’d never been a fan of vegetables (I can’t stand the word “veggies”) in the past, I only tolerated them. But when I took the time to discover the exciting, colorful, sweet, sensuous, full of life combinations of flavors that can be created, everything changed. EVERYTHING. I’ve made it my job to find the most fantastically delicious way to eat well, with REAL food for REAL foodies. [Read more...]

Stuck in a Weight Loss Rut? Try Affection, Adornment, and Adoration.

April 9, 2012 By Lisa Leave a Comment

You’ve lost some weight. You’re still working at it. You have you been eating right and exercising and you’ve reached a plateau. You weigh yourself daily and scrutinize your booty in your old skinny jeans. Is your mind on weight 24/7? Do you spend every waking moment obsessing, talking, tweeting, thinking, and worrying about what diet food you’re going to eat or what workout you’re going to do?

What if you gave all that a break for a while, it must be utterly exhausting!

Oh, no! Break your stride, no way! You know I would never suggest that you backslide to your old ways and reverse all that great progress.

But what if you do pretty much the same things you do now except within a different frame of mind? What if the high level of anxiety you are maintaining around the idea of “losing weight” were the very thing causing you to keep the weight on? How would things be different if there was a shift in focus from what you can’t eat and how many calories you burn with every single movement you make to giving your body something else it needs–affection, adornment, and adoration?

But how? You know how much I don’t like corny affirmations and “self love bla bla bla…” So we aren’t doing that. Here are a few handy tips to get things moving again and you feeling like a Goddess: [Read more...]

The Psychology of (and why I hate) the Gym

March 25, 2012 By Lisa Leave a Comment

I’m gonna break it on down for you, but first, I admit that I am not a real psychologist but I just play one on my blog.

There was only a small window of time of which I did not loathe going to the gym. It was when I worked at a small, friendly neighborhood gym owned by a good friend of mine. It was a joy to go in there and see all kinds of people, different ages, sizes, and fitness levels. In the abs class there was fun and lighthearted competition to be the best. There were always laughs to be had.

I hated going to the gym before then, and I hate them now. It’s really only the big corporate gyms that give me a headache but not because they are big and corporate. It just happens that way. I recently started going to a big (actually extremely nice) facility just for a month or two to try a fitness experiment to see if I can more quickly drop some of my winter fluff. I didn’t join, I just got a pass so I can attend some classes.

You see I like it one of two ways. Either I like a friendly and non-judgmental environment, or I want no contact, as in mind yo own damn business. I don’t want to deal with the gym bitches. Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about!

So the other day I was arriving for my first spin class ever. I was all smiles, with a good attitude, because it was 8:30, not my usual cranky workout time of 6am. A gym bitch literally saw me and started to RUN to get in front of me. What did I do? I walked swiftly but with large slow-looking strides and just looked at her as if (and she was) acting stone crazy. [Read more...]

African American Women and the Divine Feminine

March 21, 2012 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Healing individuals, families, and communities
Warning: I’m about to get all Afrikka Bambatta on you. I lovingly invite African American women everywhere to gather around this sacred fire. Boomshakalackaboom *waves fragrant incense around* Ok, silliness aside . . .I see that we have important, restorative work to do. There needs to be a women’s movement to re-establish balance in our families and in our communities at-large. The movement is powered by our ability to tap the divine feminine or sensual spirituality. Black women in particular are needed to lead our own charge.

Shared Struggles
Our collective history has blessed us with strength, fortitude, and resilience. But it has also cursed us with identity struggles, health issues, social and economic challenges, as well as attacks from all sides by the mainstream American culture. And how does this affect our families and our communities?

Historic racial and gender injustices. Lately, turn on the news, or log onto social media and what we see about what is going on today is enough to make us scream. We desperately need our divine feminine power to help us raise strong children in a society that continuously depicts or girls as inherently unattractive, hyper-sexual, and unworthy; and our boys as dangerous, criminal, unintelligent, and less than human. ENOUGH! [Read more...]

Food Love Sundays: Weekly Healthy Food Prep for Busy People

March 4, 2012 By Lisa Leave a Comment

So you’ve decided you are going to change your eating habits for the better. You have embraced the idea of eating for nutritional density. At this point you are trying to figure how you are going to eat green leafy vegetables (one raw and one cooked), some beans, and fresh fruits every single day. Or how you will manage to eat only whole grains, which take eons longer to cook? How are you going to do this after work, exercise, homework, etc.? Never fear. A little bit of prep work twice a week will make this so easy.

Saute several days worth of aromatics and store in the refrigerator.

I noticed that eating pretty much all fresh food I am using lots more aromatics. Aromatics are vegetables like onions, garlic, celery, or peppers as well as herbs that are used to create the base flavor for a dish. According to Fine Cooking,

These basic mixtures go by different names in different cuisines, but they always play an important part in the character of a dish. A French mirepoix, an Italian soffritto, or a Portuguese refogado will each provide a foundation of flavor that will ultimately distinguish a dish from a similar one in another cuisine.

[Read more...]

Food Love Sundays: Easy 100% Whole Wheat Biscuits that Actually Taste Good!

February 26, 2012 By Lisa Leave a Comment

I have to give huge props to Lisa Leake over at 100 Days of Real Food for this fantastic recipe. Go check her out! She has loads of valuable and easy to understand information about how to get away from eating janky processed foods. You all know I am an advocate for eating real food and I ran across her site and love it. I whipped up these biscuits in 20 minutes flat, and they taste delicious. Great with honey, jam, sausage or anything.

Whole Wheat Biscuits

2 cups whole wheat flour (She uses King Arthur’s white whole wheat organic flour; I used Bob’s Red Mill organic stone ground white whole wheat pastry flour)
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup cold unsalted butter
1 cup milk (any kind)

In a medium sized bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well with whisk or fork. Cut the ½ stick butter into little pea sized pieces and then mix the pieces into the flour mixture. Using a fork, try to mash the butter pieces as you mix it together with the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs. It is okay if the outcome just looks like the same pea sized pieces of [Read more...]

Dieting over the Holidays–A Survival Guide*

December 12, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

*First of all, the word diet is not a verb so forgetaboutit, and you’re not gonna die from a smidge too much eggnog and fruit cake either.

Next, I’m not about to give you a list of dumbass cliche “holiday survival” tips that will make you feel like a mean ole’ winter troll at the party, but none of us wants to look like a fluffy town polar bear come springtime either. So check out my reasonable ideas to help you keep it together.

If you come to my gathering with a store-bought platter of carrots, celery, and some jank “veggie dip” your’re getting tossed out into the snow, head first. Instead, why not just bring a bouquet of flowers and eat a light meal before the party and only enjoy little decadent dessert when you get there. [Read more...]

The Happy Healthy Spot between Diet and Exercise Neurosis and Not Giving a Damn

November 2, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Friend 1: “I have sugar-free, fat-free, gluten-free, salt-free wheat-free, nut-free, dairy-free, real food free, flavor and texture free, eco-friendly protein bars for every meal because I’m saving the animals and saving the plants because they have feelings too, but being this fabulously thin is just a lucky side effect.”

Friend 2: “Oh yeah? I’m on day 89 of the annual 100-day peanut butter and duct tape dress size 14 to zero cleanse and I’m in a great mood because I’m rid of all those deadly food toxins that had accumulated in my liver! Seriously, I’m not cranky.”

Friend 3: “Umph, that’s nothing! I’ve completely switched to the raw vegan organic sticks and igneous ancient European cave stones Hollywood celebrity lifestyle and I’m losing 46lbs every 8 days!”

Friend 4: “Oh please. I woke up at 2am and bench pressed my car, did 5,000 sit ups and 18,000 jumping jacks before dawn, all this before running a full marathon. I can eat whatever I want. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat!”

Friend 5 (me): “Whateva man, I guess that means you all won’t be interested in Sunday brunch at my house–spinach frittata, fresh broccoli salad, smoked salmon, berry and dark chocolate fondue, whole grain apple nut muffins and passionfruit mimosas—followed by some serious dance game shenanigans…” [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...]

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...]

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...]