Nell Stephenson's Blog, page 39

Welcome to the First Paleo Lifestyle Studio

It’s official- the studio I’ve been dreaming about opening for years is now open for business!

What, you might be thinking, is a Paleo Lifestyle Studio?

Imagine a place where you could stop in and hear me give a free lecture about how Paleo living can suit moms, kids, people with autoimmune condition or lose weight.

And then, if you wanted a little more guidance, you could partake of an intro to Paleo with the Paleoista Three Week Challenge, which you could use for yourself, or gift it to a friend or family member who might benefit.

You might also care to hear a lecture from one of the guest speakers I’ll be lining up that will cover a range of topics that are complimentary to this healthy manner of living.

Yoga plays a part, too, as classes for this activity, which is something I personally believe we all should be partaking in, will also be among the services offered.

Or, just stop in, say hello and join me for a cuppa green tea.

You don’t necessarily need to be an LA resident to partake, as my clients are located all over the place and sometimes come in just to make a point of contact to meet in person after working together remotely for a long time.

Hope to see you soon!

Paleoista, a Lifestyle Studio is located in Brentwood Gardens Shopping Center at 11677 San Vicente Blvd., Suite 211.

Paleo & Endurance Sports: The Perfect Fuel for the Long Haul

Check out my talk today on how to be a successful Paleo endurance athlete!

By now, you’re likely well aware of the free online women’s weight loss summit that’s been going on for the past couple of weeks.

If you haven’t moved forward with it because you think there might be a catch (and by the way, that’s the way my mind works, too, as soon as I get an email or newsletter saying something’s free… I’m always wondering where the trick is!), here’s the deal:

There are 12 presentations that are broken down into groups and go live online and repeat for 48 hours. Then they’re taken down and the next group is up.

And if you miss it, you miss it, unless you decide to buy the group of lectures.

That’s it.

My part in all of this is as a presenter, and today, my talk about being a Paleo endurance athlete goes live.

For anyone who thinks Paleo doesn’t serve endurance athletes, I’d like to illustrate that it does, actually, as it’s been a key reason why I’ve been able to compete at a very high level in both Ironman and marathoning.

Topics include:

How to fuel endurance exercise, even on a lower carb diet…
How to switch from being a carb-burner to a fat burner the right way…
How to fuel endurance exercise and lean out at the same time (no carbo- loading involved)…
How to end your reliance on sugary gel packets on long runs and rides…
Exactly what to eat while you’re training in order to lose fat, maintain energy levels, and perform at your best…
How to know if you’re in the “Chronic Cardio” zone…

Other presentations included in the summit are

What to eat (and which foods to avoid
How to balance and take control of your hormones
How to heal digestion, thyroid, and autoimmune conditions that are sabotaging your weight loss naturally
How to “cheat” and still lose weight
How to exercise (and more importantly, how NOT to exercise)

You really well get quite a bit of useful, easy to implement weight loss information out of it.

I’d highly recommend registering for this event, as it could be the final step in achieving your weight loss goals.

 Register For The Weight Loss Solution Here

P.S. And when you register for The Weight Loss Solution, you’ll also get a FREE bonus report that will show you 10 of the top reasons that you are NOT losing weight – and exactly what to do to fix them. These reasons are NOT what you’d expect, so I’d highly recommend reading the WHOLE report.

Register For The Weight Loss Solution Here

 

 

Eating Fat: Why, What and How

Let’s face it: we have fat-phobia.

We’re afraid of not being able to lose the fat and we’re also afraid to eat it! “Doesn’t fat make people fat?” is probably one of the most commonly asked questions.

November is Diabetes Awareness month. There is no better time to address this issue than now. Our fear of fat and eating low-fat, can actually be part of the problem in developing Type II Diabetes!

Fat, good fat, in and of itself, does not make us fat.

I, too, was in the same boat for a long time, having lived through the glorious early 90’s low-fat/ fat-free craze.

Here’s the thing: real, healthy, unrefined fat balanced with wild proteins and plenty of fresh, local, seasonal veggies will help you lose weight, not gain it!

If you’re dressing your veggies with olive oil or topping your salad with avocado, you’re 50% there. Try upping you intake and see what happens.

One client reported using a scant teaspoon of olive oil on her salad with the juice of an entire lemon; another said she often relied on seven almonds and an apple as a snack.

It’s not enough, not by a long shot.

I’m not suggesting you chug a bottle of Greece’s finest, but add a little more than you normally would and see if you don’t feel more satiated after every single meal with a more balanced blood sugar level as a result. Give it a week and I’ll bet you won’t go back.

Remember to use extra virgin olive oil, raw avocado along with coconut oil as your go-to fats. And, don’t go nuts with nuts!

Nuts are high in Omega 6’s and meant to be eaten as the occasional garnish, not by the handful because they’re ‘easy’.

With information popping up left and right in the world of Paleo, it’s easy to get caught up in some of the recommendations that may or may not be accurate.

Some of the suggestions you might see:

Eat unlimited fat the Paleo Diet, as long as there’s no trans-fat.
Use as much butter and cream as you like; just make sure it’s from grass fed cows (this one in particular is interesting, since dairy is not part of the Paleo Diet!).
Have as much bacon as you like.

None of these are the right idea.

Looking for what the real deal is?

Click here to read my full article on Dr. Cordain’s Paleo Diet Website!

What Are You Getting Out of It?

Another good way to check yourself and nip a potentially disastrous food choice in the bud is to take three seconds before putting that not-so-healthy option in your mouth is to pause and ask what value you’ll get out of it.

As a healthy choice, say you were about to enjoy a raw kale salad with avocado and some delicious grilled, grass-fed ribeye and a glass of California cab.

Not only would your palate have a field day, your body would be quite appreciative at the iron, the vitamin C, the CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), the resveratrol and a multitude of many other vitamins and minerals.

On the flip side, take a bag of chips as an example.  You’re at the office, you haven’t eaten enough earlier in the day and there’s nothing else in the building other than microwave popcorn.

They’ll serve a purpose, sure, by providing some calories, albeit not the right ones, but think about it. They’re covered in bad oil, completely lacking in any water and devoid of anything remotely nutritious.

Not only that, the high glycemic profile of the white potatoes will cause a blood sugar spike and leave you even hungrier!

Better to down some water and take an extra 10 minute break to zip over to the nearest grocery mart. This would be an in-a-pinch scenario where a can of tuna that you could rinse off along with an apple that’s not likely organic and some almonds that are neither sprouted nor organic, but at least are not covered in peanut oil would be the best choice you could make in a not-so-great choice environment!

Let’s Get Cooking

In need of some new ideas to jazz up your current kitchen repetoire?

Join me tomorrow night for my next Paleoista Cooking class at The Gourmandise in Santa Monica.

Learn how you can prep all the basics you’ll need to create several days worth of healthy options for you and your family.

Roast Pastured Chicken Breast, Pan-Seared Grass Fed Flank Steak, Wild Cedar Plank Salmon, Broccoli, Kale and Sprouts are on the menu, so be sure to bring your appetite!

Click here to sign up; only a few spots remain!

Hope to see you there!

The Secret to Sock-Eye

OK, it’s not really a secret- I just liked the alliteration.

If you’re a wild salmon lover like I am, you may have found that while being flexible about the type of proteins and veggies you pick up at the market lends itself to being far more economical than being set on one thing, and one thing only.

For example, you may find wild King Salmon prices in at $24.99/pound while Sock-eye or Coho weigh in at sometimes half the cost.

Or, you may find that there simply is no wild King Salmon available, only farmed, so you then have another reason to go with an alternate.

Does that mean you need to change dinner plans completely?

Nope.

But you may want to slightly alter your cooking technique.

Since Wild King is so deliciously rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, you can get away with cooking methods, such as baking in the oven, that for other types of fish would leave the dish a bit…dried out.

So what’s the ‘secret’?

Pan sear it.

And quickly.

Perhaps the simplest thing to do is to give it a quick douse in a salt-free cajun blend, throw down some coconut oil into your cast iron skillet and cook for about four minutes, flipping once, halfway, then turning off the heat and letting it sit, covered in foil for a few more minutes while you throw together a quick salad.

Voila!

Fresh veggies with natural, wild protein at a good price point- sounds like the perfectly paleo dinner to me!

It’s On!

The gun goes off today at 9:40 AM EST.

While I always have a race goal time in mind and want to perform to my best, at the very heart of it all, I’m  happy to have this incredible opportunity to be a part of a race this spectacular, and to have the gift of a healthy body that allows me to partake.

I’ll be running with my heart, body and soul and giving it all I’ve got.

Good vibes and well wishes welcomed!!

Click here to download the free, New York Road Runner’s App to your phone, so you can follow live the whole time!

See you at the finish line!

Welcome to the Holidays: 75% off all Paleoista Plans

Is this holiday season going to be the same as all the rest?

Make this small but significant purchase your first of the holiday season- 75 % off any download plan now for one week only.

Hectic calendars with all the seasonal events, allocating time to shop for gifts plus shorter days making it more difficult to spring out of bed in the pitch black dark to get in a workout can all lead down the path of getting less activity, which can then plant a teeny tiny seed in our mind of the ‘heck with it, I’ll wait til the New Year’ mindset, which can then lead not only to feeling sluggish and less productive, but putting on some extra pounds on top of those you already wanted to shed.

Yikes!

None of us are immune; in fact, before I knew about the Paleo diet and I followed the Standard American,  even as an athlete, I still felt I could never quite get to that lean  bodyweight I wanted, and since I was still eating those ‘good old healthy carbs in moderation’ that I ‘needed’, I was still experiencing unbalanced blood sugar levels which made me more apt to want ‘something sweet’ in the afternoon.

Guess what?

After I learned about Paleo, for reasons other than wanting to lose some weight, I found that any extra pounds melted off, slowly but surely, without cravings, feeling deprived or wanting to cheat.

If you’ve been struggling with implementing Paleo, as many people (myself included) do when they’re starting, one of my 6 week plans can be the deal maker for you.

Now, for one week only, they’re all yours for 75% off.

Simply enter code: N6FQGG3M08KG when you check out from my online store.

The healthier you are and the better you feel, the better you’ll be able to get every last holiday task done, while feeling full of energy!

Goodbye silly diets, hello Paleo!

 

Knowing your Body… and Your Body Worker

Sore knees?   Stretch out your hips.   Plantar fasciaitis?  Roll out those calves!  Chronic headaches?   Open up those shoulders!

If we stop and think about how many of us walk around on a daily basis with chronic pain, it’s alarming.  Even more so when we consider the number that will likely go to the doctor, get a prescription for pain meds, treating the symptom but not the cause.

And when we consider athletes, we reach a whole new level; in the sense that having tight muscles or a chronic imbalance issue can, over time, begin to cause serious disruption in training and even injury.

Over the years, I’ve had many clients who have cleaned up their eating, do a great job at getting in their workouts and make their way toward a trend to sleeping properly but when it comes to massage, for some reason, it still seems to be the common belief that it’s nice but not necessary… a luxury that would be nice, if only…

This couldn’t be further from the truth!

Massage is not to be grouped in the same category as facials, scrubs and mani/pedis.  Don’t get me wrong, as I am absolutely a tried and true spa girl, through and through, but if any of these services do not belong in this group, it’s body work.

Sure, the occasional fluff and fold version of a massage you might at a spa could be grouped this way, but not serious, deep tissue, shiatsu type of work.

Unfortunately, it’s not as simply as calling up the local massage place or PT clinic and zipping in for a treatment.

In my experience, it takes a long time with the right person to get to know your body and for you to get equally as comfortable knowing their work.

For obvious reasons, many a massage therapist at a spa will not work on certain areas of the body, for risk of being sued (I am told), or making the client uncomfortable.

Granted, working on the origin of the adductor muscle group (inner thigh- right near the groin) or on the psoas (deep into the abdomen) is not something that the typical spa-goer might want; it’s not relaxing and it can actually be quite painful as these two muscles are examples of some that are often overlooked both in bodywork and self stretching.

And as a client, of course, I don’t want any random person working on me who doesn’t know what they’re doing.

But to not address the entire body as a whole kinetic chain,  working on every muscle from every last to to the scalp and jaw, is to not look at the big picture.

The body can’t be looked at locally.  In other words, if you have a sore knee and the knee is the only thing that is addressed, it’s no different from having a flat tire on your car and wondering why the rest of the car feels wobbly, rather than just that area right around the wheel.

I am lucky enough to have found  a body worker who I feel is a true healer.   He’s been working on me for nearly five years, knows which my tighter areas are (hamstrings & psoas!), which are weak (gluts), which get tense from stress (neck) and which are typically always fluid (shoulders).

It’s a joint effort, too. It’s not a matter of me lying there, lifeless, getting stretched and poked.   It hurts. It requires pushing though the pain of tight, tangled muscles to let them release and move with ease and smoothness again.   And it requires communication and feedback between the client and the therapist.

Anything less is not an option.

Even if you’re reading this and thinking it sounds nice but it’s out of budget, or you can’t find the right person- there is a way.

I began getting massage as a recent college grad with not much extra cash.. but I was lucky enough to meet a recent massage school graduate who happened to have a natural intuition for the work and so for a very reasonable price, I began my bodywork journey.

If it’s not a weekly option, do it once every other, and learn to use self myo fascial release tools on your own between sessions, such as a foam roller or trigger point balls.

Hydrate, stretch, roll, do the body work and allow your body to keep itself healthy, strong and fluid.

There is no given that walking around in pain has to happen…ever, even if you are a certain age, or have run for a certain number of years or whatever the common misconceptions are.

Get your bodywork on!

221,314 Sugar Cubes

According to an article in Ad Age, that quantity of that drug is “the amount of sugar consumed during the average lifetime of a one-can-a-day soda drinker”, per Brita, the water filtration system.

They displayed an  “all-white metropolis, built of sugar cubes, meant to symbolize that very amount of sugar” in their new ad last week.

In addition, they’re “erecting a “sugar cube city” in New York’s Chelsea Market made from nearly four tons of sugar, which represents sugar consumed by a family-of-four during a lifetime”.

Horrified?

As we all should be.

Let seeing the quantity in these obscene proportions be the wake up call so desperately needed.

Set aside whether or not you’re Paleo, or vegan, or gluten free or don’t follow any particular eating regime… this is just appalling.

And there’s not a single argument as to why we should be eating this… any of it.

“A little of it in moderation” is nonsense.

Shall we apply the same sentiment to drugs?   As in, “A little heroin or crack now and then is fine”?

I’m not being funny. And I could go on… but we’ve simply got to stop.

Stop eating sugar, stop buying it and do so now.

There’s just no other way to put an end to this…(dare I write it?)… weapon of mass (self) destruction.

As long as there’s a demand, there will be a bigger and bigger supply, to suit the bigger and bigger people who’re being targeted and acting just as the distributors want them to.

Click here for the full article.

And please don’t read this thinking, well, it’s October 30th and Halloween is tomorrow, so I’ll stop on Saturday.

Cut the cord now!