Eating often becomes a rushed, unconscious activity due to busy lifestyles and packed schedules. New clients often tell me they eat standing up or multitask during meals, barely noticing the food on their plates—and certainly not enjoying it! This disconnect from our eating habits causes overeating, poor digestion, and a lack of fun in our meals. Mindful eating offers a pathway to a more intentional, satisfying relationship with food. By infusing mindfulness into mealtime, we can create better health and a deeper appreciation for food.

Here are three ways to practice mindful eating.

1. Engage All Your Senses

A fundamental principle of mindful eating is to engage ALL your senses in the experience. This practice invites you to truly observe and appreciate the food in front of you, rather than mindlessly consuming it.

Before you take your first bite, slow down and really look at your food. Notice the colors, shapes, and textures. Is your plate vibrant with a variety of colors, or...

Finding time for a full workout can be challenging. Sometimes our schedules are too busy to hit the gym or our favorite exercise class. The good news is, you can maintain momentum and improve your health in just 10 to 15 minutes per day. Yes, you heard that right! With just a few short bursts of physical activity, you can boost your fitness, increase metabolic burn, and transform your body.

Short bursts of activity, also known as micro-workouts, is a fitness trend gaining popularity for its simplicity and effectiveness. It involves exercising at maximum effort for a brief period, usually ranging from 20 seconds to a few minutes, followed by a short rest period. This cycle is repeated several times, creating an efficient workout that can be done in as little as 10 to 15 minutes.

Here are some of the awesome benefits!

1. Improved Cardiovascular Health

Short bursts of intense activity significantly boosts cardiovascular health. When you push your body to its limits, your heart works...

Going out for meals can be so much fun—but it can be a challenge for some. Many of my clients worry about dining out at restaurants when they’re trying to diet or struggle with weight issues. The concern is so understandable! But the good news is, there are strategies you can use to master the art of dining out without derailing your weight loss efforts.

1. Don’t Arrive Hungry

When you go to a restaurant, it can take some time to get seated, place your order and then wait for your entrée to arrive—hence, the bread and butter, tortilla chips and other diet spoilers they put on the table to tide us over. Instead of dipping into this well of fattening carbs and other calorie-laden food, have a healthy snack before you go. Pop a handful of nuts, a piece of fruit, or some Greek yogurt so that you’ll be able to hold out for your entrée.

2. Preview the Menu in Advance

An easy way to stay on track is by researching the restaurant’s menu...

Mindset is everything! As a nutrition and mindset coach, I love to help my clients develop and refine an incredible mindset to help them achieve their health and fitness goals. An excellent—and timely—source of inspiration is the Olympics! Adopting the mindset of an Olympic athlete will help you develop mental resilience and discipline that will transcend and benefit every area of life, from relationships and business to diet, fitness, and health.

Here are four ways to cultivate that mindset and unlock your full potential.

1. Set Clear & Ambitious Goals

Olympic athletes dedicate years to pursuing a single goal: winning a medal. This level of singular focus is transformative in any area of life. Even though you may not be trying to win a medal, having that kind of focus will benefit you tremendously.

Start by defining your vision and clearly articulate what you want to achieve. Whether it’s advancing in your career, learning a new skill, or improving your...

Practicing gratitude is more than saying thank you–it’s a powerful habit that can improve your mental, emotional, and physical health. Regularly focusing on and appreciating positive areas of your life changes your perspective, reduces stress, and has life-changing effects on your body and mind. As a transformational nutrition coach, it’s one of my favorite practices to recommend. Literally nothing but good comes from practicing gratitude!

A gratitude practice is a science-backed method for improving your overall well-being. It shifts your focus to the positives in your life, which helps develop feelings of abundance and happiness. 

Here are some of the amazing benefits of gratitude.

Stress Reduction

Stress causes a fight-or-flight response in your parasympathetic nervous system that raises blood pressure, makes your heart beat faster, and triggers surges in cortisol and adrenaline. Expressing gratitude helps calm the nervous system and lowers blood pressure,...

The heat is still on—and while many are heading back to school, the weather beckons lighter fare in line with the weather in many places, especially here in Southern California. Whether you’re on a diet, working with a nutrition and mindset coach like me, or just starting to eat healthier, it’s the perfect time to opt for some low carb options when planning your meals. An easy way to do that is to feature greens as the star of your entrée to ensure your meal is packed with fiber, nutrients and antioxidants.

Some excellent choices are spinach, arugula, kale, collard greens, broccoli and even iceberg lettuce, which is often overlooked as it is not as nutrient-rich as other greens, yet has an impressive water content and provides an awesome foundation for salads and wraps.

Here are some quick and easy ways to wrap more greens into your summer nights.

Wrap Your Veggies

Toss your favorite foods into a spinach or iceberg foundation with some balsamic vinegar...

As a nutrition and mindset coach, many clients ask me which are the best exercises for optimizing diet efforts, especially this time of year. While eating right is your first priority, working out can significantly expedite your results and boost your overall health. The best types of physical activity combine both cardiovascular and resistance training, as you’ll burn calories while building the lean muscle you need to rev your metabolism and increase your daily burn.

Here are five different workouts that are excellent supplements to any diet or weight management program. NOTE: Make sure to check with your physician to make sure you are in good enough health before you begin any exercise program.

1. Bicycling 

Whether you take spin class or like to cycle outside, this sport is a serious calorie burner, torching up to 500 to 1000 calories per hour, depending on how fast you go. Cycling decreases fat levels and improves cardiovascular fitness, while increasing muscle...

When you’re trying to lose weight, build muscle, or are following a low carb diet, it’s important to consume lots of protein, preferably the lean kind. It’s essential for building lean muscle mass,  repairing muscles after exercise and promoting healthy digestion. The more lean muscle mass we build, the more calories we burn on a daily basis, as it is more metabolically active than fat. Lean muscle also improves bone density, insulin sensitivity, and cardiovascular health.

While lean chicken, pork, fish, and grass-fed beef are good mainstays, there are also plenty of other sources that are perfect for those following a low-carb, vegan or vegetarian diet. The following foods are packed with protein as well as some of the essential nutrients our bodies need to function properly.

1. Chia Seeds

One eight-ounce serving contains a whopping 4.4 grams of protein. More importantly, these tiny little seeds are considered a “complete protein,” which means...

Workout success isn't just about having the right trainer, going to the coolest gym or achieving minor gains–it’s about the right mindset. Our thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes can make or break our fitness routine and seriously impact our overall health. As a transformational nutrition coach, I work with clients to shift their mindset to uplevel their diets and workouts, and achieve optimal results. 

Here are five mindset shifts that can help you change your approach to exercise and uplevel your workouts. 

1. Positive Attitude

Approach every workout with a positive attitude. Know that you’re doing healthy things for your body and promoting longevity. Strive to do a little more each day with the understanding that you’re getting better at exercising with each workout and taking steps towards a healthier life. Even on the days you don’t feel your best, show up with what you have with the understanding that you’re still making progress...

Some people seem to be able to maintain their ideal weight without any effort. While this may be possible for a few, we know that getting fit and healthy has to do with focusing on nutrition and lifestyle. When you work with a nutrition and mindset coach, they will help you develop and implement a healthy lifestyle so you can achieve your goals—but you can also adopt some of the behaviors and habits of those who never need to diet.

Read on for a list of some of the best habits to adopt into your new, healthier lifestyle.

1. Consciously Decide to Eat Nutrient-Rich Food

If you eat whole, fresh foods with an emphasis on lean protein and complex carbs, you will look and feel better—and it will be easier to lose weight. While it’s impossible to eat perfectly healthy every meal, you can make good decisions the majority of the time and aim for moderation when you do have the occasional indulgence. Once you start to see results, you'll be inspired to keep making positive...