Whole30 Adventures with Teach. Eat. Repeat.

March 4, 2015March 5, 20154 Comments

Meet Rachel and Anna of Teach. Eat. Repeat. I’ve been following their Whole30 adventures and just had to share the healthy goodness with you! Not only have these two ladies made huge healthy changes themselves, but they’re also helping others to do the same, all while lesson planning, wedding planning, and meal planning in the hustle and bustle of NYC. Read on for their total Whole30 run-down and healthy onion ring recipe below!

So, what exactly is this Whole30 and why should we all know about it?? Whole30 is a program that was founded by Whole9 creators, husband and wife team Melissa and Dallas Hartwig. They published an awesome book called It Starts With Food that describes the tenants of the program and how food can literally change your life in one month or less. 99% of their resources are available for free on their website because they want you to take the program and share it with everyone you’ve ever met. We started Teach. Eat. Repeat. to spread the message, the “love and lettuce” as we call it, because of what a difference it’s made in our own lives.

So, what are the Whole30 rules? You can find the official rules here or our own interpretation below (they’re most simply, though regrettably, expressed in a series of “nos,” but don’t fret because there are a whole lotta yes’s to come!)

1. No added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. This includes maple syrup, honey, agave, splenda, coconut sugar, etc. Read your labels and say bye bye sweet tooth.
2. No grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and nasties like maltodextrin.
3. No legumes/soy (sauce, lecithin, peanuts, lentils). They make exceptions for green beans, sugar snap peas and snow peas, because you consume more “pod” than “bean,” and the green stuff out weighs the lugumey-ness. You can read the full “Legume Manifesto” as to why.
4. No dairy. The only exception to this is clarified butter or ghee.
5. No carrageenan, MSG or sulfites.
6. No alcohol, not even for cooking. We know, we know.
7. No “sex with your pants on” aka, no making versions of your favorite “cheat foods,” with compliant ingredients (no banana ice cream, date brownies, coconut flour pancakes, eating almond butter straight out of the jar…). If it’s a food or substance that you can’t control yourself around, don’t eat it. 30 days is enough time to let go of bad habits, overhaul trigger foods, and change. your. life.
8. No stepping on the scale or taking body measurements for the duration of the program. It’s about so much more than numbers, people. You can weigh yourself before and after, but we’ve found that no-scale victories are the biggest victories.
9. No cheats, no slip, no excuses. Or you start over.

Why so strict? Go big or go home, folks. Each of the foods on the “no” list represent either a. a potential allergen or b. an immune disruptor. Certain foods could be having a negative impact on your health without you even realizing it. Since your immune system is largely housed in your gut, your body may not be able to completely repair itself and fight off invaders at the same time. In order to discover the foods that may or may not harm your body, you strip out all of the potentially physically and psychologically unhealthy, hormone-unbalancing, gut-disrupting, inflammatory food groups for a full 30 days. And then reintroduce them, group by group, little by little. By following the 30 days and the reintroduction program, you can see exactly how your body responds to each food. As Melissa says: “imagine you have 10 cats, and you’re allergic to cats. If you get rid of 9 of them, will you feel better?” Maybe? Yes? No? How will you ever know unless you get rid of all 10 once and for all?

With that said, let’s move on to the yes’s. You can eat as much healthy protein, vegetables, fruits, and healthy fat as you are physically hungry for. Ideally, you don’t have to read any food labels because all of the food you’re eating are whole, natural, and unprocessed. Unfortunately, there are hidden sugars in things like tomato sauce, pickles, and canned foods, so it’s important to be mindful of these while shopping.

So, no labels and no alcohol? Umm, how do you do that?! We did the Whole30 program together in October for all of those reasons above. We started for different reasons. Rachel had done one before while living in Miami and lost a ton of weight. When her boyfriend of four years broke up with her, she went on a six-month bender, but one day, enough was enough. Anna started because she wanted to lose a few more pounds before her wedding. In January, we recruited more friends to our team. We needed a team because the shopping is hard. The meal planning is hard. The motivation becomes hard and sometimes, when everyone around you is knocking back fireball shots faster than Pitbull can say “Fireball dunDUNdundundundun,” you need someone’s smile from across the bar to tip your lime and seltzer at knowingly.

January 1st is a traditional start date for Whole30. The founders of the program run a big national push for people to start on January 1st, and so by default, you end up with a HUGE online network of teammates. It’s all over their blog, instagram and forum and you connect with thousands of other people who are also committing to this lifestyle. We figured the more the merrier.

How did we feel? This is a tricky one. We’ve felt different ways on different days. On day one, we felt awesome. On days two and three, we felt hungover. On day seven, our pants felt tighter than when we started (wtf?!). On day twelve, we had the most realistic food dreams about tings we don’t even crave in real life (Anna woke up crying because she thought she ate truffle covered goat cheese in the ocean in the South of France with her best friend). But the moral of the story is around day fifteen, we started to feel this unbelievable energy. In our line of work, you have to be on your toes, on the move, and on-stage all day long. Having boundless energy and endless positive things to say to children isn’t just important, it’s the difference between loving teaching and despising life. The energy created motivation to keep going and it’s just continued to snowball.

How do we prepare for a working week on the Whole30? Not going to lie, it’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of prep, but it’s totally worth it. We both prep a bit differently, but we’ve found what works for us individually and we love making shopping and cooking dates together and with a group of friends, it’s actually a lot of fun.

So, 30 days has come and gone…why are we still going? We feel really, really good, that’s why. We’ve never slept better, had more energy, or been more in control of our food choices. That said, we also haven’t rid ourselves totally of all of our “emotional” food issues, though we’ve come a long way. We still crave sugar after dinner or wake up drooling because we want bacon. We continue the journey towards that elusive thing called “food freedom.” We want to indulge happily and guilt-free when we choose, not when our mind tells us it’s time for a sugar rush. We want to reach a “goal weight,” or have my wedding dress fit perfectly. Mostly though, we want to keep on feeling really good for all of the milestones we have coming up as well as life in general!

Anna and Rachel just started another Whole30 on March 1st and their experience has convinced me to hop on board this spring as well. If you’re interested in joining us in April for One Healthy Whole 30, stay tuned for more info, resources, and motivation. In the meantime, check out Teach. Eat. Repeat. and poke around the Whole30 site too! Feel free to email talktoteacheatrepeat@gmail.com with any questions for Anna and Rachel! Last, but not least: Whole30 Onion Rings:

Game Day Recipe: Whole30 Onion Rings

What you’ll need:

1 large yellow onion
½ cup almond flour
½ coconut flour (Note: if you only have one or the other, that’s totally fine. We like the mix, but it really doesn’t matter).
2 eggs lightly beaten
4 tsp paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp cayenne
½ tsp salt
Two mixing bowls
Baking sheet
Cooking Spray

What We did:

Preheat the oven to 400degrees
Slice the onion.
Mix the flours and spices in one bowl. Mix them around a bit so they’re good and friendly with each other.
Crack eggs into the other bowl
Use one hand to dredge the onion through the eggs and then plop into the bowl with the flours.
When they’re all coated, bake for 20 minutes. Make sure they’re not touching. After 10 minutes, flip the rings so both sides get toasty.
Serve alone, with guacamole or whip up some Whole30 mayo and mix it with Buffalo sauce for a spicy, creamy treat.

Give yourself the touchdown cheer! You just made some healthy onion rings!

One Healthy Breakdown: thanks for the inspiration, explanation, and energy!

One Healthy Heath Coach

August 20, 2014August 20, 2014Leave a comment

Meet Marc Mouhadeb; health coach, entrepeneur, and self-transformed athlete who looks forward to a cold beer on a hot Hamptons day. Great read, awesome advice, the real deal!

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did ‘life as you know it’ come to be? (career, family, location, etc.) How/why did you start City Health Coach and what do you like best about it? What’s the overlap between your career and your value for health, fitness, and wellness?

I grew up in a Jewish-Lebanese household full of love and lots of Mideastern food. I was relatively active, but by no means was I healthy. I loved Shawarma, falafel, and stuffed grape leaves.

In my early 20’s, my dad was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and all everyone ever said was that it was hereditary. I was scared shitless! Am I next? Is this written in my book of health? I did a whole bunch of research and came to realize that Type 2 Diabetes is not only preventable and treatable with proper nutrition, but it’s actually reversible! And so my journey began into the realm of health. I became a Certified Health Coach and delved into the teachings of Dr. Fuhrman and Dr. Neal Barnard who both advocate a plant-based, Nutritarian way of eating. Simply put, a Nutritarian diet bases food choices on maximizing the micronutrients per calorie (term coined by Dr. Fuhrman.)

Simultaneously, in 2011, my good friend invited me to join him on a training run before his first half-marathon. I repeatedly told him to play a real sport like basketball or football. After a month of him asking me, I finally obliged and decided to lace up my sneakers and go running…I couldn’t make it a mile. I was so embarrassed that I decided then that I needed to start running. Three years later, I’ve logged hundreds of miles, a few marathons, a 50 mile ultra-marathon, and a few triathlons.

See, I am one of you. Just a guy trying to make it in this hectic world. I grew up in Brooklyn and now live in NYC and love summer in the Hamptons. I read a book called The China Study, which I highly recommend, and decided to explore the plant-based way of eating. The combination of following a Nutritarian lifestyle and running has transformed my health and my life.

With my health and fitness now in check, I decided to share what I know with the world and help people overcome many issues including weight loss, cholesterol issues, and diabetes. I realized that giving people a diet rarely works. Telling them they are going to die if they eat that burger will also be ineffective as people need something tangible to grasp and small targets to reach.

And then it hit me: charge people obnoxious amounts of money (something tangible) and when they hit their goals and targets, they get it all back. The next time one of my clients reaches for a burger, it’s not death they are worried about, it will be losing $10,000. Mean, I know…but it works. And so City Health Coach was created and after two years, every single one of my clients got all of their money back. It’s a good thing I have a full-time job as well!

People always ask me how do I make a living when I give my clients all of their money back? It’s simple: I don’t. I do this because I love helping people transform their lives. I have a full-time job which pays the bills and gives me the luxury to do this.

2. What’s one thing you overcame and how?

The concept of running a 50 mile race seemed like the most daunting task in the world but I decided I needed to do it to take my mental and physical fitness to another level. It’s one thing to be physically fit for a marathon. It’s a whole other thing to be fit for double that.

Aside from the physical stress, running The Bison 50 was by far one of the most difficult challenges I’ve ever taken on, physically, but even more so, mentally. I was out there for about nine hours alone in corn and wheat fields. I’d worked really hard to get to that point. I trusted my coach and focused on the task at hand – mile after mile – trusting my body and trusting my mind. Obviously, I survived. You can read about my experience here.

3. What is your favorite recipe? workout? Favorite weekend activity? How did you get into running?

Favorite recipe: hummus and veggies in between two portobello mushroom caps – my version of a burger ☺
Favorite workout: sprints
Favorite weekend activity: love a delicious farm-to-table brunch

4. As a young man, business owner, member of both the NYC and Hamptons scene, how do you maintain balance in your life?

Balancing everything is actually extremely difficult, but I’ve come to realize that if I sleep well, I can undertake all of my tasks effectively. Between sleep and proper eating, my mind stays sharp and I can complete everything I need to do in a quick and efficient manner. If I don’t sleep well…boy oh boy…

5. Any other great healthy/balance tips for other busy folks?

My biggest tips are as follows:
• Sleep – sleep is vital to proper health and functionality. Without it, your body doesn’t recover, grow, replenish, or reboot.
• Eat – Eat for nutrient density. Instead of focusing on carbs, fat, and protein, focus on foods high in nutrients; veggies, greens, fruits, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Your busy life will get so much better when you eat efficiently. When you get rid of anything that is not nutritious in your home, you won’t be tempted to eat it. Sounds radical, I know, but it’s less radical than dealing with the ramifications of disease later on, right?

6. What food items do you always have available?

I love hummus! I eat it on a daily basis. And lots of fruits (mango and avocado are my top favorites), If I have hummus and fruit, I’m a happy man.

7. What is your favorite indulgence?

While this is certainly not in the health category, I love a cold beer on a summer day.

8. How do you make health a priority in your home/life?

Health has become a huge priority in my life. I tell my clients all of the time that if health isn’t a priority, everything in your world may falter. You can only do what you want to do effectively if you are healthy. If you aren’t healthy, nothing else really matters. Health has to be a mindset, a total shift in perspective. Most people wait for a near-death experience to change. Don’t let that be you.

9. What is your FAVORITE thing about the Hamptons? Favorite place?

My favorite thing about the Hamptons is sunset drinks and my favorite place to enjoy them is Dockers.

One Healthy Breakdown: If you want to live life to its fullest, you need to be healthy. Focus on becoming a Nutritarian and you’ll live to see life in a much happier and positive way.

Run 10 FEED 10 Recap

August 12, 2014August 12, 2014Leave a comment

The FEED Foundation, started by Lauren Bush Lauren, aids world hunger and malnutrition in a creative, powerful, and trend-setting way. Over seventy five million meals have been provided through sales of FEED’s signature artisan products (bags, t-shirts, jewelery, etc.) Buyers can feel good about purchasing great products that support an even better cause, providing adequate nutrition for those in need. Good products that FEED the world, check them out here!

I learned about FEED Projects through Women’sHealth Magazine’s Run 10 Feed 10 Campaign, a series of 10k races to fund domestic hunger. Each registration fee FEEDS 10 meals to those in need right in your own ‘backyard.’ Food is available; however, it is unfortunately not accessible to everyone. FEED Projects, in collaboration with Women’sHealth Magazine, is out to make change, one meal at a time, one bag at a time, one runner at a time.

I’m eager to spread the word about Run 10 Feed 10 because this fabulous campaign combines all good things One Healthy Hamptons loves to support: women’s health, fitness, aiding hunger, running, celebrating, and more! Every summer, Women’sHealth Magazine heads out east for a weekend celebration packed with fitness and fun in preparation for NYC’s Run 10 Feed 10 race on Sunday, September 21st. Register today!

*Pictured above with Lindsey & Casey from Women’sHealth and friend Alicia

We kicked off “Women’sHealth covers the Hamptons” weekend with a great Flywheel class on Saturday morning before the celebrations commenced. And celebrate we did, at the Run 10 Feed 10 “Party Under the Stars.” There’s nothing better than celebrating a great cause with like-minded, inspirational people…Hamptons style of course!

*Pictured above with friends Kristy & Marisa, B-School founder/entrepreneur Marie Forleo, and The FEED Foundation’s Lauren Bush Lauren

One Healthy Breakdown: run for a cause, shop for a cause, celebrate for a cause.

One Sweaty Summer ~ The Hamptons Sweat Scene

May 21, 2014May 21, 2014Leave a comment

Here are just a few new places to sweat, strengthen, and stretch this summer around the Hamptons…can’t wait to try them all! Who’s with me?!

The Fitist Collective – East Hampton
Barry’s Bootcamp – Amagansett
Silich Core + Strength – East Hampton
Pure Barre – Southampton
Marvil Fit – Hampton Bays
Yoga in the Vines at Wolffer Estate – Sagaponack

Elements Fitness – East Hampton
305 Fitness – Montauk Beach Club
AKT in Motion – Hamptons Gym Corp
The Surf Lodge – Montauk
Erika Bloom Pilates with LuliTonix – East Hampton

One Healthy Breakdown: With SO many existing and new places to sweat this summer in and around the Hamptons, which will YOU try first?!

One Healthy Interior Designer

December 30, 2013January 1, 2014Leave a comment

Introducing, Marie-Christine “MC” McNally, interior designer, Hamptons-lover, kick-ass spinner, newlywed, and owner of Marie-Christine Design, LLC!

MCprofile

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did ‘life as you know it’ come to be? How did you get into interior design and what do you like best about it?

It’s been a slow and organic evolution. I started my adult life in the world of advertising and marketing. It was a great place to start life in NYC in my early 20’s — I loved the energy, the activity, and all the people I got to meet and work with. But, eventually I realized I wasn’t truly inspired by my work and slowly started the the process of finding what really drives me. I ended up leaving my career in advertising and going back to school for a post-graduate degree in interior design at the New York School of Interior Design. I have never looked back. After school, I landed an internship, and then a job with an amazing designer for three years and eventually took the leap to start my own business in 2008. Finding myself in the Hamptons happened much the same way. I started coming to the Hamptons through summer share houses in my early 20’s. Over the next decade, I found the pull of this place to be so strong, and realized it was my happy place. Over the years, I gradually started spending more and more time here. First it was Fridays, then Mondays and Fridays, now Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays whenever possible. While I still keep an office in NYC, and have to travel back and forth weekly, my husband and I call Sag Harbor home and I structure my life so that I am here as much as possible.

2. Is there any overlap between your love for design, which seems to involve simplicity, beauty, and functionality and your value for health, and wellness?

“Good design” in interiors and “good design” in lifestyle are so subjective and differ greatly from person to person. It’s all about finding what is right for you, what drives you, what makes you feel good, what makes you happy, and then making that your goal.

3. What piece of advice would you give to others about achieving goals?

Achieving your goals, be it professional or personal, is really all about overcoming your fears. But, if you believe you can do it, and you put the work and sweat into getting it done, I find it pretty amazing what we can all accomplish.

4. What is your favorite workout?

My favorite work-out is spinning! Nothing like getting lost in amazing music and the energy of a motivated group. It’s amazing to me that it consistently feels like fun instead of work. That’s why finding what you love makes achievement so much more attainable! When you enjoy it, you stick to it!

5. What’s your favorite weekend activity?

We have three large dogs at home and they all love to get out to play and run. They’re a wonderful motivator for getting outside and enjoying this beautiful place we live in. We are constantly taking walks on the beach or going for trail runs in the woods. Sunday mornings, sitting on the sofa, drinking my coffee, surrounded by my doggies and my husband is one of my favorite times. This is my time to re-charge.

6. As a young woman, interior designer, wife, business owner, member of the NYC scene and the Hamptons community, etc., how do you maintain balance in your life?

Balance…? What balance?! 🙂 It’s hard. I often feel like a nomad and could easily get overwhelmed by all the moving parts. I think the key for me is to be organized so I can really maximize my time no matter where I am or what my task is. Also, being clear on my priorities is huge. On the bus into NYC, I use the quiet time to catch up on reading or email. In the city, I use the frenetic energy to keep me busy from morning to night, so I can get all my work done and get home. When I’m home, I take the time to re-charge and enjoy my family and friends. Working hard allows me to enjoy the downtime and enjoying the downtime is what allows me to work hard!

7. Any great healthy/balance tips for other busy woman?

You have to find what works for you. I really believe that different approaches gel for different people and it’s really important to keep searching until you find the right combination that works for you.

8. What food items do you always keep in your house?

Fruit and cereal! For me, cereal is a great snack and having fruit around gives me a way to get the sweets I often crave without going to candy (which I LOVE!). And coffee…..Lots of coffee….. 🙂

9. What is your favorite indulgence?

Naps! There is nothing like curling up in my comfy bed on a sunny afternoon for a quick nap.

10. How do you make health a priority in your home? My husband and I are both naturally active people with naturally active lives, so I feel lucky that we don’t have to make that effort, it just happens. We also both follow the same, “early to bed, early to rise” mantra, so we get lots of sleep. Other than that, we do our best to eat healthy, although neither of us really believes in dieting, depriving, etc. We just do our best where we can and it usually seems to fall into place!

11. What is your FAVORITE thing about living in the Hamptons?

It’s the life I have here that brings me happiness. My husband, our home, our dogs, and our friends make it what it is. It’s also about the natural beauty that I see everywhere when I’m here. It’s the villages, the beaches, and the lifestyle, the houses, the light, nature all around us…I leave here inspired every single time and am always so anxious to get back out to the Hamptons.

One Healthy Breakdown: Do the work and take the time to find out what really drives you, what really inspires you, what really makes you happy. Once you know, make it the priority and achieving all of your goals get so much simpler!

One Healthy Pilates Instructor

October 15, 20131 Comment

Enjoy this interview with Erika Bloom of Erika Bloom Pilates Plus for tips on balancing a business, (Erika’s Pilates studios in and around NYC & the Hamptons) family, and a healthy life!1. How did you get into Pilates?

I began Pilates when I was a professional dancer. It was recommended by my doctors to help with dance-related injury. I immediately fell in love with it and got amazing results, both as a dancer and after I stopped performing. I continually find that Pilates is the answer as I go through different phases in my life: to keep my dancer’s body once I stopped dancing, to counter my scoliosis as I age, to prepare for and recover from having children. Year after year, I love it more and more.

2. What do you find is the best benefit of Pilates? Tell us some other benefits too!

Pilates is the most effective way to perfect posture. This is so important because we all look thinner, younger, and more beautiful with good posture; and good alignment makes the body feel better and keeps it injury free. Pilates is also so amazing because it creates both strength and flexibility. It works the muscles in a way that sculpts the body to be long and lean.

3. What is your favorite non-Pilates workout/activity?

I practice yoga, particularly the Pranayama and meditation portion, and I love how it complements Pilates. I also love swimming in the ocean with my kids, playing paddle ball on the beach, stand-up paddle boarding in Gardiner’s Bay by our house, and taking long bike rides through the Hamptons.

4. As a mother, business owner, wife, and Pilates instructor, how do you maintain balance in your life?

It’s hard! It’s important to learn to say ‘no’ to work demands. It’s also challenging but really imperative to be ‘off’ work when I’m not at work so that I can focus on my kids when I’m with them and not have my head in two places at once. I have to remind myself that the world isn’t going to end if I wait until I’m back in the office to get back to someone. I’m also very lucky that I have such an amazing team around me both at home and in the office and that the type of work I do makes it easy to take care of myself. A day at the office includes a Pilates session, massage, or acupuncture treatment!

5. Any great healthy tips for on-the-go’ers?

The best thing we can do for ourselves is to breathe! When you’re stressed, rushed, tired, hungry, out of balance, take some time to focus on slow, deep breaths. Calming your nervous system in this way, helping to bring it from sympathetic to parasympathetic, improves immunity, digestion, lowers blood pressure and stress hormones, and more. It’s so simple, but so amazingly effective.

6. What food items do you always keep in the house?

I always keep tons of fruit in the house. It’s an easy, healthy snack that also squashes sugar cravings. I love apples, blueberries, plums, and pears the most.

I also always have organic turkey and Ezekiel bread for a quick, protein-rich lunch for the kids. Brown rice, quinoa, fresh veggies, miso soup, hard boiled eggs, Greek yogurt, and almond butter are always on hand as well.

7. What is your favorite indulgence? (can be edible or not!)

Getting regular blow outs for my hair is my indulgence. I don’t like the effort and time waste of doing my own hair. I love how it looks blown out and I love getting scalp massages, reading salon magazines, and multi-tasking by catching up on emails during the blow out. It feels like taking time out to get pampered every week!

8. How do you make health a priority in your family without going overboard?

I don’t think eating healthy and getting exercise has to be about restriction. Healthy food is delicious and physical activity is fun! We make it a part of every day with the spirit of enjoyment and I’m proud to be setting this kind of foundation for my kids’ healthy futures.

One Healthy Breakdown: Lots of exercise, produce, living in the moment with family, and weekly blow outs? Erika’s balanced lifestyle is one we can all strive for. Start with a deep breath now!

SLT “Pilates on Steroids”

August 22, 2013August 22, 2013Leave a comment

After hearing lots of buzz this summer about SLT, I finally got to try it out for myself. When asked what to expect, my friend told (warned) me: “it’s like Pilates on steroids.” Yes, that’s just about exactly right. I was sore for days and days…which means…it works.

SLT’s Water Mill studio is new and clean, but the reformers of all reformers, Megaformers (aka torture chambers) aren’t particularly welcoming. Lucky for me, I got there early enough to see the previous class wrapping up. Each and every one had that clenched look of pain across their face…that got me a little nervous for what was to come, not going to lie. And I was right, pain was to come.

As you can see, the Megaformer has lots of tools and toys to sculpt in different ways. Various moves allow for heavy resistance for weight-training or lighter resistance for Pilates. Don’t try this at home, folks. We worked our abs, legs, glutes, obliques, back, triceps, biceps…is that all? It was a different sense of toning, more like pinching. The Megaformer creates motions we don’t usually perform with the body.

Did I mention how sore I was? I did like the fact that we packed so much in, just when your muscles wanted to explode and the pain became unbearable, it was time to switch to a new muscle group. Sweet relief.

It’s definitely impossible for this workout not to shape and tone. Good form and precision is key here, both for safety and for results. If you’re looking for a social workout, SLT isn’t it. You don’t go to this class to chit chat, you go to strengthen, lengthen, and tone. Good thing the music was good because it was the only distraction from the pinching pain.

One Healthy Breakdown: Consider this ‘the Mega-reformation of Pilates,’ if you will.

Love Grace Juice Cleanse – Sunlight in a Bottle

August 13, 2013March 24, 20152 Comments

I recently tried Love Grace Foods‘ three-day juice cleanse. This was my first ever juice cleanse and guess what? I survived! …a little cleaner, greener, and lighter from all of that bottled sunlight! Love Grace shipped me (door to door service from NYC!) five full juices plus a ginger bomb for each day. Allow me to introduce you to the colorful wonders: Super Cider, Purify, Restore, Green Sunshine, and Longevity Tonic. With names like these, you know it’s made with love.

Although I liked some juices more than others, I loved the variety of organic ingredients. I loved knowing that I was truly eating (well, drinking) a rainbow, with about 20-30 varieties of fresh produce daily, way more than I would ingest normally. Although the cleanse provides a calorie deficit, each and every one has nutritional value and is instantly absorbed due to the nature of Love Grace’s juicing. This isn’t a ‘get skinny fast’ cleanse, it’s SO much more. Love Grace’s ingredients don’t just flush the body out, but also replenish the good stuff we need long-term, like cancer and Alzheimer fighters.

Juicing is detoxifying, cleansing, rejuvenating, and inspiring. This cleanse was just the refreshing kick I needed. Speaking of kick, these cold-pressed, organic, raw, juices pack a powerful punch. Like that blink a few times, woah that’ll wake ya right up! Especially that ‘Ginger Bomb Elixer,’ it’s packed with anti-bacterial and antiviral ingredients to rev the metabolism and up your energy, preventing the body from slowing down due to the lack of calories. The shot is super intense, yet totally refreshing.

My favorites included the Purify, (breakfast of super greens sweetened with coconut water) Super Cider (apple, carrot goodness) and, of course, the Chocolate Superfood Smoothie (banana, flax, cacoa, goji berries, dates, and more.) This Chocolate Smoothie literally got me through the cleanse, it made it all worth it – the chocolately light at the end of the tunnel. Luckily, Love Grace allows customers to customize their cleanse and purchase juice a la carte. Good news for me, now that I’ve tried them all out and picked my faves. Hello, chocolate for dinner everyday.

In all seriousness though, these daily protein smoothies provide the sustenance an active body needs. Made of way more than just produce, they’re thick and satisfying. The superfood smoothies and the ginger bombs are what set Love Grace apart from all of other juice cleanses on the market, and that I like.

The other huge perk of juice cleansing was the convenience factor. With a fridge stocked with juice, I didn’t have to think about grocery shopping, meal planning, or cooking. I happened to be attending an all day Re:TREAT while I was cleansing, which conveniently allowed me to focus 100% of my attention, instead of having to think about prepping and packing meals. I cleansed in every sense of the word; physically and mentally.

So, I bet you’re dying to know: was I hungry? Yes. Not even going to lie, at times I was starving, but not to the point that it effected my body other than a grumbling tummy. I didn’t get headaches or lightheaded, not even from the torture of replacing my normal morning coffee with peppermint tea. I didn’t go to bed starving and I made it through intense workouts just fine.

So, was it worth the hunger pangs, lack of snackin’, and coffee cravings? Yes. It was worth it to wake up feeling lighter, cleaner and leaner throughout the entire day, and it gave me a new appreciation for everything I put in my mouth. Plus, the results didn’t reverse themselves (even after my much-anticipated post-cleanse breakfast of *healthy* pancakes.)

One Healthy Breakdown: Yes, I’d absolutely juice with Love Grace again, but next time around, I’ll probably customize my own cleanse. If you’re looking for an easy, reliable first cleanse or even a long-term healthy upgrade, (made with love) check out Love Grace Foods.

We Partied Under the Stars

August 5, 2013August 4, 2013Leave a comment

What’s better than spending a Saturday night with the stars sipping drinks and roasting marshmallows under the stars at the Bridgehampton Beach and Tennis Club?! Doing it all for a good cause! Saturday night, Women’s Health Magazine and the FEED Foundation kicked off their annual Run10Feed10 Campaign, Hamptons-style. Run10Feed10 is the 10k sweeping the nation, raising money to feed mouths in need, fighting the hunger epidemic, one meal at a time.

From chatting it up with one of my fave ladies, Gabby Bernstein to Kelly Bensimon shaking her booty on the dance floor, sitting around the bonfire with Kelly Rutherford and fam, to top designers in their best ‘Hamptons chic,’ it was a night to remember, that’s for sure. So what brought all of these fabulous people together to party under the stars? Fighting hunger, that’s what.

Women’s Health and The Feed Foundation are stopping hunger in its tracks, one mile at a time. As of today, 50 plus million Americans are living hungry. Sadly, hunger effects about 1/6 children, inhibiting their ability to learn and thrive. Right here, in our own country, in our own city, in our own neighborhood. Unlike disease and natural disaster, hunger is a problem we can all do something about, fast. We can all take one morning this fall to push ourselves to run 6.2 miles in what has become such a popular event that last year, they shut down the West Side Highway! Local fitness studios even jumped on board; local classes at Flywheel Sports, Barry’s Bootcamp, and Exhale went to the cause, in addition to their generous donations to the event’s silent auction.

Women’s Health sure knows exactly how to do it up here in the Hamptons. Drinks were flowing, dj was playing, s’mores were roasting, and the company was amazing. Lauren Bush Lauren displayed FEED’s adorable bags that raise money to fight this epidemic worldwide.

Yes, the Hamptons definitely got behind the cause. You want in? Your registration for the upcoming Run10Feed10 run in NYC Sunday, September 22nd will donate 10 meals to those in need. What’s better than running NYC knowing your feeding 10 mouths?

One Healthy Breakdown: OHH is all about paying it forward, doing good, feeling good, sweating for a good cause, and of course, a good party under the stars. Thanks Women’s Health Mag and the FEED Foundation for a memorable summer night. See you September 22nd!

10 Best Beach Snacks for a Nutritious Life

July 26, 2013July 26, 2013Leave a comment

I recently got to sit down with one of Keri Glassman’s Registered Dieticians, Lara. Lara is spending the summer in the Hamptons, working with clients to ensure that they have the tools to live a Nutritious Life all summer long. Summer doesn’t have to mean health taking a backseat to fun. We can enjoy summertime in the Hamptons to the fullest, with farmers market goodies, smart decisions, and active fun. Lara made us a list of 10 easy on-the-go beach snacks that are nutritious, delicious, and ready to pop into your beach bag for more time at the beach and less time prepping!

Top 10 Easy Beach Snacks: