Blog

Microbes, Metals, and Methylation: Three Reasons You’re Not Yet Optimal

June 20, 2014

If you’re anything like me, you began making health and lifestyle changes due to one of two factors: you were experiencing some sort of illness or you simply realized that you could become a much better version of yourself. It may have started with something as simple as optimizing your circadian cycle by setting a consistent time for going to sleep and awakening. Or you may have been one of those people who made a 180° change in your lifestyle and health habits: you dropped all desserts, all...

Exercise Advice for Beginners

June 6, 2014

Protips from a PRO Bodybuilder Good advice isn't always what you want to hear, but it is what you need to hear. If you’re serious about exercise and your improved performance, don’t just read the following advice. Listen. This isn’t popular, or even polite advice; this is important exercise advice for beginners. DON’T LISTEN TO EVERYONE Your health and fitness aren’t about making everyone feel good. It’s about making you feel good. So for that reason, you can’t listen to everyone. You’re...

Parents, Get It Together

June 6, 2014

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] A letter from a Mom. Kids these days! They want to fight us on everything. I mean everything! How do we pick our battles for the sake of sanity without sacrificing something important? Well, it’s hard. And though I despise excuses, and especially the phrase “it’s too hard,” I do understand. But there’s a difference between “it’s too hard” and “I don’t want to try.” Stay with me here, we’re gonna dig into some truth and uncover why that food battle has...

Science Headlines Pertaining to Food Stuffs:

June 6, 2014

• “Mind Over Milkshake.” A study originally published in 2011 looking at the psychological control of hormone release has been garnering a lot of media attention as of late and is worth noting. The study demonstrated that food of the same nutritional content, but bearing different labeling, can affect ghrelin production and satiety. Specifically, when people consumed food they believed was more “indulgent,” they had a steeper decline in the hormone ghrelin, causing them to feel a greater sense...

Why You Should Be Honest With Your Health Coach

May 2, 2014

Let’s be honest. Most of us have something about our physical build we’d like to improve. Unfortunately, too low of a percentage of us actually do something about it, and only a fraction are successful. So what is the difference between success and failure in physical transformation? It starts with honesty. You must be honest with yourself, and you must be honest with your health coach. If you can’t be honest with yourself, what good is even the best of resources? You can have the best...

Health in Our Backyard: Pine Pollen Benefits

May 2, 2014

In a world full of plastics, synthetic materials, genetically modified foods, phytoestrogens, pesticides, pharmaceutical medications, tainted water supplies and other endocrine disruptors, we could all use a little lesson from nature about proper hormone balance and our health. Low testosterone affects both men and women. For men, the most significant contributing factors are nutritional intake and age. As men enter their 30s and 40s they are more prone to andropause — a decline in the...

Fitness Spotlight with Logan Gelbrich

April 18, 2014

Logan Gelbrich is a former professional baseball catcher who became a CrossFit coach, gym owner, and founder of the performance-focused supplement brand ORIGINAL Nutritionals. As the owner of DEUCE Gym in Venice Beach and a contributor to The Box Magazine, he blends practical coaching with a disciplined approach to nutrition and strength and conditioning. He also serves on Rob Orlando’s CrossFit Strongman Seminar staff, which reflects his commitment to movement quality, resilience, and...

Is Agave Paleo? A Deep Dive into Agave Nectar, Aguamiel, and Tequila

April 18, 2014

The Agave Plant: Desert Sweetness with a Debate Agave is a desert succulent, not a grain or legume, and its sap-based products are derived directly from the plant. In its whole, raw form, agave certainly fits within the Paleo framework. The controversy begins with agave nectar, a modern sweetener extracted and processed from agave sap. While its low glycemic index and high inulin (fructooligosaccharide) content have earned it favor among some health-conscious consumers, the Paleo community...

Are Meal Plans Paleo?

April 18, 2014

I have a confession: I have a terrible sense of direction. In fact, I’ve lived in San Jose for two years, and I still can’t find my way around this town without my GPS app running. While this is a sprawling, confusing town to navigate,* you’d think that after two years I could at least figure out how to get to the places I always visit without Siri politely reminding me to “turn left in 500 feet.” I’ve only recently begun to think that there might be a problem with the fact that I can’t seem...

There’s No “i” in Team, but There Sure Is in “fitness.”

March 28, 2014

Fitness is one of the most individual pursuits. It’s not like team sports where even the greatest athletes are limited by their reliance upon their teammates. Fitness is simply you against you, you against “getting better,” or you against an unbiased, impartial movement pattern. The problem is…we lose to ourselves far too often. We give up, we quit, and we stop short. We quit challenging our bodies when the going gets tough. Or, sometimes we don’t even try something challenging. You may not...