Before we even leave the house in the morning, most of us have slathered so much junk on our skin. Toxic, chemical-filled junk. I honestly didn’t think much about it – What’s that ingredient? Who cares! It claims to help acne! – until a few months ago.

Earlier this year, my very good friend Jenna Street launched a Toronto-based all natural skin care company called Karmalicious. Don’t you love the name?

She makes – by hand – everything from soaps and toners to anti-aging skin care, using natural ingredients. My favourite, the Linden soap, is made with honey, oats and peony flowers. Also, I dare you not to love her cleansing grains. They exfoliate and leave your skin super soft and smooth.

A few of us were also lucky to be a part of one of her natural spa workshops. We learned how to make our own exfoliating scrubs, toners, bath bombs and lip balm! You’d laugh at how easy it is to make this stuff at home.

To be honest, it was this workshop that made me switch from chemical-laden products to all natural.  Jenna’s extremely passionate about living as chemical free as possible, and her enthusiasm is contagious. I check everything now for a list of toxic beauty ingredients and did a proper cleanse of my medicine cabinet.

I’m so thrilled that Karmalicious is a success, and I encourage you all to try out her products via Etsy. Also, you can chit chat with Jenna directly on Twitter @BeKarmalicious. I love her, I love Karmalicious, and I love how good it feels knowing I’m doing something good for my skin and body.

xo

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the umeboshi plum.

First of all, what are they?

Umeboshi are Japanese pickled ume fruits that resemble apricots more than plums. They’re packed with sea salt and shiso leaves before being pressed.

So, how are the medicinal?

Umeboshi are alkalizing to the blood because of their high citric acid content. Your blood likes to be slightly alkaline because acidic blood allows fungi and bacteria to thrive.

Hold up! – wouldn’t citric acid make your blood more acidic? In the case of citric fruits, they’re actually alkalizing because, after digestion, they leave minerals behind that help remove hydrogen ions and decrease your blood’s acidity.

These little pickled buggers are perfect to help sway the vote of alkaline vs. acidic.

They’re good for:

• Diarrhea
• Digestion
• Nausea prevention

And, as the post title states, they’re also known to help hangovers and sugar binges. In The Kind Diet, Alicia Silverstone talked about first trying one when extremely hungover and claims to have felt great eating just half a fruit.

My hangover cure test is pending, but I did eat one after a sugar binge. Who knows if it was a placebo effect (what ever happened to the band Placebo, by the way?), but I did feel better about an hour after popping one.

However, here’s my BIG FAT WORD OF WARNING: umeboshi plums are quite possibly the most unpleasant thing I have ever tasted.

I forgot Alicia’s “extremely sour” warning when my mom and I each tried one. Honestly, I only got half of one down before coughing and spitting out the rest. Our reactions were priceless.

If you feel like taking your own umeboshi hangover test, it turns out the most common way of ingesting umeboshi is in tiny quantities with rice, or soaking one in hot water and then drinking the liquid and eating the plum together. And have a chaser ready.

I’m an emotional eater, so I’ve been eating a lot – and a lot of junk, and barely working out. You can see the impact already on my body. It’s not that the new curves are unflattering, it’s that they’re there for unhealthy reasons. The changes to body, skin and sleeping habits are all a big fat reminder of how letting your emotions dictate your diet is dangerous.

And you know what? I’m sick of it.

It’s time to take back control, enjoy food that’s nutritious as well as delicious and learn the difference between hunger and emotion-triggered sugar cravings.

You know what that means. It’s time for a mini cleanse.

Hey, hey. If you’re rolling your eyes at how that sounds or are cringing with thoughts of the Master Cleanse, stop. We’re not talking extreme measures here. This week’s cleanse is about eating clean. It’s going to be just like the ReCleanse Challenge, except for no supplements. That means lots of veggies, fruits, protein, whole grains and (good) fat.

It’s also a time for a cupboard cleanse.  Here’s what I’m throwing out. There isn’t much to show since most of the bad foods consumed are take out.

Here are some other ideas for limiting emotional food buys:

• Don’t carry any cash except for emergency money (cravings do not constitute an emergency).
• Drink a tall glass of water before leave in the morning. It’ll actually do a good job of waking you up, and you won’t be as tempted to quench your thirst with a sweet Starbucks beverage.
• Don’t cut out bad food all together. If you love burritos, you can still have them – when you make them at home. You’ll know exactly what’s going in them. (Heaven knows how much oil restaurants use.)
• Wait it out. Cravings usually don’t last very long.

It’s on!

I’ve been interested in this log for months and often peek at it in Chapters, so it was a super appreciated gift. I can log my workouts – exercise, reps, sets and how I felt – and food intake. I don’t count calories really, but it helps me be more accountable. Food’s my biggest issue. I actually binged a bit tonight, but I’m human, and I like gross food, and that’s okay sometimes. I did feel a bit guilty writing it in my journal, but it’s keeping me honest.

Annnnyway, it’s a cool journal. There’s a very helpful section on when foods are in season, what months they’re available via cold storage, etc. They have conversions (conversions from ounces are finally conquerable!) and awesome little stickers to help express yourself better. That part’s a bit silly, but fun nonetheless. It’s also got extra empty tabs for things like recipes, contacts, classes, websites, shops and more.

Check it out:

Thanks, Jill!

x

Gosh, I really haven’t blogged. I’ve barely been on Twitter. I had a schedule disruption and couldn’t get back into it… going to the gym, eating well. I knew I’d snap out of it eventually, so instead of posting half-heartedly, I waited until there was something to say.

So, I’m back now. It took about three weeks. I did a couple of jazz classes and went to the gym once or twice, but I was eating serious junk and procrastinating all fitness. How did that happen? How does one go from a seven-day cleanse to supersizing things? From craving the gym to treating it like a waste of time? Where did my goals go?

It was probably because I really didn’t have any goals to begin with. It’s never been about reaching a specific weight; I want more muscle and less body fat, and who knows what that ideal weight is. It’s never been about looking good by X day. Unfortunately it’s also never been about just being a healthy person; obviously, if I still eat junk, the fast food veil is still hanging. It’s just been, “Okay, go to the gym and work on gaining muscle and try to eat healthy.” Sure, it sounds good, but it’s vague.

To work your hardest on a consistent basis, it’s helpful to have interval goals. Difficult but achievable goals.

So, to stop with all of this horsing around, here are my goals from now until September:

• Make half of every meal fruits/veggies
• No fast food
• Attend gym 3 times a week (focus on butt, biceps and abs)
• Attend one jazz class

This month is about establishing routine again. Y’heard.

What’s your goal system like? Do you have one main goal or smaller frequent goals? Or do you prefer to workout for your general well-being?

On June 22, about 20 of us on Twitter took part in a group review of Prairie Naturals’ ReCleanse, a whole-body herbal cleanse.

I’ve always been curious about cleanses but never really took the next step to try one. Prairie Naturals got me on board when I heard others would be tweeting about their experiences with the week-long cleanse… and that the product offered a “gentle” cleansing approach. :P

Unlike a lot of cleanses out there, this one was doesn’t make you drink sickening beverages (Master Cleanse, hint hint) or call for nothing but papaya for two weeks. With ReCleanse, you still eat. Thank God.

You must eat three complete meals a day, consisting of low-density carbs (most veggies & fruits), high-density carbs (whole grain pasta, brown rice, beans, sweet potatoes), lean protein and good fat (avocado, nuts, seeds, olive oil). You take 4 pills around breakfast and another 4 pills around dinner.

What you can’t eat is food with preservatives, colourings, added sugar and added salt, alcohol, coffee (well, one cup a day), white grains, mushrooms and anything deep fried.

Basically, my meat was a bit bland, and I craved sugar like you wouldn’t believe, but I’ve never had so many different fruits and vegetables in my fridge at once.

Here’s how I felt:

• Day 1 - Felt as usual.
• Day 2 - Exhausted, nauseated, cravings up the ying yang.
• Day 3 – Tired, headache, cravings a bit better.
• Day 4 – Still a bit tired, cravings continue to improve.
• Day 5 – Mildly tired.
• Day 6 – Lingering cravings thanks to commercials & food bloggers. :P
• Day 7 – Officially felt great.

In the end, I dropped 4lbs (though it was probably just water weight) and adopted fantastic eating habits. I’m impressed about the latter. I didn’t think anyone or anything could break my Starbucks addiction.

I definitely recommend this cleanse for anyone looking to break some bad food habits and jump start their way to a healthier lifestyle.

Have you done a cleanse before? Would you try one?

[EDIT: I forgot to mention its flaw -- the instructions didn't include enough snack examples. Yep. That's the only flaw.]

You just finished a hard workout. Your legs are shaking. You’ve got sweat rings God only knows where. Yep, it’s time to eat.

After a long, hard workout, your glycogen levels are considerably low, and your muscles are running on fumes. You need a boost fast. And that means protein and — sound the trumpets — sugar (the good kind, of course).

The “magic window” for eating time is 30 mins from the end of your workout.

Eating a proper meal after exercising will help you:

• Recover faster
• Build muscle
• Boost metabolism

So what should you eat right after your work out?

• Whey protein – Whey is the fastest-digesting protein and, in liquid form, will be digested even faster. Bring a shaker bottle to the gym with your powder and ingredients inside (I like chocolate whey powder and chocolate soy milk), so you can drink your shake right after working out. For the best protein-sugar combination, add dextrose powder.
• Fruit - A sugar rush you won’t feel guilty about. Pair an apple with 1 tbsp natural peanut butter for a slice of protein.
• Dried fruit with some nuts – Grab a small handful of unsalted almond and/or walnuts.
• Chocolate milk – The sugar and saturated fat isn’t fabulous, but chocolate milk is surprisingly good for you post workout.

What should you eat when you get home?

• Fish, brown rice and veggies.
• Chicken breast, whole wheat pasta with reduced salt and fat sauce and veggies.
• Egg white omelet loaded with veggies with a slice of 100% whole wheat bread with 1 tbsp almond butter.
• Large spinach salad w/ chicken breast, hard boiled eggs, 1/3 avocado, tons of vegetables & an oil & vinegar dressing.

Don’t have the mentality that eating after exercise will ruin your workout. Give your body the oomph it needs to recover, repair, grow, tone and metabolize. Plus, hello, eating is fun!

What’s your go-to post-workout meal?

A yogurt parfait has both simple and complex carbs and protein, making it a great snack an hour before your workout.

Eating before you workout provides your body with the fuel it needs to withstand heavy exercise, which causes your blood sugar to drop. Some people (like me) are more sensitive to this drop than others, so you’ll have to experiment with different size snacks and timing to find what works best for you.

You should be eating simple carbohydrates that are easily digested closer to your workout; fruit usually does the trick. If you have a few hours before working out, eat a good meal of protein and complex carbohydrates, like a chicken breast with baked sweet potato, and then have a bit of fruit before exercising.

And without further ado, here are 10 energy-packed pre-workout snack ideas, roughly in order of what to eat 30 mins before working out to hours before working out:

1. Fruit - A simple sugar that’s digested easily will help kick start  your workout. Athlete favourites: oranges, bananas & apples.
2. A smoothie made w/ fruit, soy milk and ice.
3. Yogurt Parfait – Combine natural (unsweetened) yogurt, blueberries, strawberries and granola. (This is especially good for breakfast as you have fruit to get your engine going plus protein and granola to keep you satisfied for a couple of hours.)
4. Crackers w/ peanut butter – About 8-12 crackers w/ 1 tbsp natural peanut butter.
5. A bit of cheese with fruit - A bit of protein and fruity goodness in a quick-to-make snack.
6. Whole grain cereal w/ milk.
7. Oatmeal - I’m talking about the real stuff that you cook on your stove, not the sugar-packed microwavable pouches. Cook 3/4C-1C of oats and sweeten with honey and berries. A friend of mine likes oatmeal and peanut butter, so you can try that, too.
8. Hard boiled eggs w/ yolks replaced with humus (extra yummy with a dusting of paprika). Best if followed by a complex carb like a slice of whole wheat bread.
9. Turkey breast on whole wheat bread w/mustard.
10. Brown rice with your favourite lean meat & steamed veggies.

If you feel queasy or get side stitches while working out after eating, try eating three hours beforehand or opt for a liquid shake (mostly recommended for morning fitness fans, who need the extra boost after having not eaten for roughly seven hours).

Remember to down a tall glass of water with your snack and to drink consistently throughout your workout.

Coming soon: a list of post-workout meals in which sugar is often recommended. Hell yeah!

What do you like to eat before working out? Do you ever feel sick if you don’t — or do — eat before exercising?

Bookmark us now and check back soon for a dose of girl power for women.

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