a healthy balance

I wouldn’t leave it on my ENTIRE face (only on small problem areas) for more than 15 minutes because it’s drying and can absorb the moisture from your face. But it seems to help suck out stubborn blackheads that don’t even come out with nosestrips overnight.

SAFETY wise, the ingredients in the mask are Water, Kaolin*, Bentonite*, Glycerin, Zinc Oxide, Propylene Glycol, Sulfur*, Chromium Oxide Greens, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance**, Methylparaben.

* are natural clays that have been used for 100s of years and are non-allergic.

**are fragrance chemicals which can cause people with sensitive skin to react.

My guess is that if you have sensitive skin, you should not leave it the mask on longer than 15 minutes.

Hi! I’m so glad you’re recovered and able to be active again! Did your doctor say its okay to start doing more intensive exercises? Great job keeping yourself in shape and not letting yourself go during your injured days!

Eating Healthy Starter-Kit

1. Clean out the fridge and pantry! Bite down your guilt and just throw away packaged foods and cereals with more than 5g of sugar per serving. Chuck all artificial drinks and junk foods! I know…it’s hard to throw stuff away. I’m Asian, I get it >.<
2. Make over one meal at a time: Start with building a better breakfast. Once you get the hang of that, move on to other meals.
3. Snacks should always be natural.
4. 5 servings of vegetables a day
5. Start finding substitutes for white, refined flours (i.e. lentils and beans with brown rice instead of white rice) 

Ready to get fit:

1. Work out upper body, lower body, and core each 2x a week. You don’t have to do them all the same day.
2. Mix in cardio like jump-roping (do you have cardio equipment like a treadmill?)
3. Good equipment to have: balance ball, 5-15 lb weights
4. Aim for 30 minutes in your home gym, 4x a week.
5. Always start with warm-up exercises.
6. Always stretch after your workouts to prevent any other injuries
7. Remember fitness is a combination of cardio, strength, and flexibility. Hit all 3 and you’re doing great!

Hi, you’re current routine is definitely not helping you. At 5’11 and 140, you shouldn’t be losing weight. Even at 160 lbs, that’s still pretty lean. What is your goal? How do you want to improve? What pressures you into eating so scantily? Not even me, a 4’11 female eats 900 calories a day to lose weight. You’re at a good time to start weight-training because it looks like you hit your major growth spurt already. With good nutrition, I bet you could squeeze in a couple inches in the next 3 years! This question makes me nervous because I’m sensing eating disordered thoughts…

What can you do to change:

• Relax. Ask yourself why you’re putting yourself through this.
• Eat at least 2000 calories a day.
• Consume a high protein, moderate fat, moderate complex carb diet.
• Eat 3-5 meals a day. 
• Start weight-training to build muscle. (you may not develop a lot at this age, but it’ll be good for you and give you a strong looking physique)
• Continue drinking mostly water, but also milk or other calcium fortified drinks.

I don’t like calling it “binge days” because eating healthy and moderately is something we learn to do and enjoy. Also, calling something a “binge” meal has negative connotations. Sure, people should have treats and indulge in something interesting once or twice a week, but let’s not call it a “binge” because we always want to be mindful of what we eat. We don’t BINGE. We enjoy something extra once in a while =) 

P.S. my brother is 15, 5’8, and 140, size 31, and he’s thin and athletic…he’s never eaten less than 2000 calories a day since he turned 13. He mostly eats more than that now too, especially on soccer practice days.

Everyone know what Dragonboating is? It looks intense! 

• How many days are you dragonboating and/or working a day? If you’re only currently active only a couple days, you may be working out less than you were when you were running consistently.
• Are you going long hours between meals? It’s easier to overeat when you go 5+ hours between meals and fill up on the most accessible foods. Try splitting your meals in half and eating them 2-3 hours apart. 
• How are you stress levels? Do you have a lot to do during that day that you just want to go home and vegg-out? 
• Are you going out to eat more with your team and have more social events?
• A couple pounds is most likely muscle too! Since you’re building arm strength from rowing and quad/calf/hamstring muscles from running up and down stairs. These muscles don’t get worked as intensely during moderate running. 

Weight seems to creep up on us when we change our lifestyle, and but necessarily in a bad direction (i.e. if we move places, new schedule, new job or school). Meals may be harder to eat at regular intervals, time to exercise is never that convenient…but being able to adapt is what makes us stronger. By paying more attention to your diet, you can lose these 15 lbs in HALF the time it took you to gain it. 

Well this is what came to mind; hope it helps! 

I think you’re doing good by eating more protein than MyFitnessPal suggests. This may be why you’re feeling satiety with an intake of 1200! Those are guidelines anyways and 12 g is not a big deal. People usually want to know what snacks are HIGH in protein because there are sooo many healthy bites that are low in protein, but high in carbs. I  wouldn’t stop eating your high protein snacks; but other ideas include: airpopped popcorn, bran flakes+almond milk+berries, carrots & hummus/sweet potato hummus, or Fruit Parfaits. Keep eating healthy! 

Coffee has a much higher caffeine content than tea and creates a dependency early on. There’s also a short withdrawal period as well. It’s  not a good habit to depend on an artificial jolt to feel awake. Try to feel alive through exercise and a balanced diet. I never plan on being someone who needs their cup of coffee in the morning to function. Many people think coffee helps suppress their appetite and helps them lose weight…but why fool your body? Caffeine increases your levels of adrenaline putting your body under stress which only hurts us when we’re under pressure. 

BUT decaf coffee + cinnamon + almond milk satisfies by chocolate cravings! 

This is a great time for a new start because summer is coming around! This will give us a lot of time to focus on establish better habits that will sustains us for busier times.

1. Start by remaking each meal: This week, focus on making a more nutritious breakfast. Then move to lunch, then dinner! 
2. Set a time for exercise: This is an essential part in an active lifestyle, but it doesn’t have to be stressful. Block out 30 minutes a day to do something that makes you break harder. Try walk/jog, step aerobics, or cardio kickboxing for a full body workout.
3. Tight Budget, no problem! My inexpensive stables are Kashi GO Lean Original cereal, almond milk, oranges, bananas, eggs, beans, carrots, and pretty much all produce. If you don’t buy snack foods or fast foods, you’ll save A LOT of money. I’ll be a med student in the fall and will aim to spend $200 a month on food. I think that’s low-reasonable…
4. Bypass processed desserts: These are an energy and money drain. Reach for fresh or frozen fruits to satisfy your sweet tooth. 
5. Make time to have fun outdoors on weekends! It’s important to find ways to be active, but not feel like you’re working out intensely. 

Most importantly, live each day with purpose. 

Hi! I can totally relate and these are the foods and practices which helped me: 

• Sleep! I don’t think I’ve ever pulled an all-nighter (maybe not enough a 2am-nighter…) and I always did well in school. The hours you stay up does not directly correlate with your grades…
• Exercise in the morning, even if it’s just a quick 30 minute run and crunches before heading to class. If you’re in high school, and mornings are too early, try working out before you start studying so you can thrive off the boost in energy. 
• Foods: chickpeas to feel full but not heavy, bananas, juicy oranges, grapefruits, greek yogurts, green tea (stay way from coffee as long as possible)…The higher water content foods are most energizing, I feel. Try to get watermelon and pineapples for a healthy boost in energy. 
• Stress relief: Green tea, ginger tea, avocado, and salmon, frozen berries for a light sweet dessert

Maybe you’re still tired from track season…I know practice can last 2 hours a day and you’re just recovering. Go easy on yourself for the rest of this year and try to space out the amount of work you have to do (only procrastinate by checking my blog lol). 

So my personal strategy is to answer usernames first so I don’t have to publish it if it’s a quick response. Then more challenging, unique, and lengthy Anon questions. (I don’t spend too much time answering simple anon questions on tumblr because I don’t want to spam dashboards and crowd up my blog. For those, ask with your username) Sorry If I haven’t gotten to yours yet! (if it’s about foods for energy because of being tired around exams and such, I’m planning on answering soon when I’m at the computer! iPhone tumblr sucks…). Hmm..Maybe I should be more chronological with answering messages…

I’m not even sure if Anonymous askers know if/when I answer their question…

Is it a cramp? I had really intense cramps in my calf for a while and I think it was due to poor hydration and lack of minerals, especially calcium and potassium. They would wake me up in the middle of the night! Anyways, I don’t get them anymore and I think it’s because I stretch, drink 2-3 liters of water a day, eat bananas, yogurt, and calcium fortified almond milk everyday.

Yes, I had this problem for a couple months during freshman year of college http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/tc/nighttime-leg-cramps-topic-overview…I would wake up yelling in the middle of the night and my roommates thought I was crazy…jk I just sucked it up and screamed silently…its scary because you’re not sure when it will stop…(usually lasted for 20 seconds). 

Hi! Have you and your doctor determined the cause of your anemia? (For other readers: most anemia is caused by a vitamin deficiency in Vitamin B, Folic Acid, and/or Vitamin C but can be a symptom of inherited or other chronic disease). From my nutrition course, I learned that a common way to improve conditions by diet is by consuming  foods rich in iron, Vitamin C, B vitamins, and folic acid within a meal. Some foods include:

• Vitamin C: This one’s easy…oranges, grapefruit, mango, berries, tomatoes, bell peppers
• Folic Acid:  leafy green vegetables (kale, spinach, mustard greens), and grains (quinoa, wheatberry), sweet potato, beans, lentils
• Vitamin B12: Red meat, whole eggs, yogurt, milk, cheese, nutritional yeast, fortified cereals, liver (I actually really love pâté de foie gras…)

Meal ideas:

• Breakfast: fortified cereal, milk, and an orange
• Lunch: Spinach or kale salad with cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, almonds, egg slices, balsamic  vinegar and oil dressing
• Dinner: lean beef and string bean sautee, quinoa
• Snacks: Almonds, crudites (snap peas, bell peppers, cauliflower), whole grain toast
• Desserts: Greek yogurt with blueberries and/or strawberries.

Exercise! The good news is that cardio exercise like running helps to produce more red blood cells which can reduce anemia. Please talk to your doctor soon about what types and how much you can start out with. You want to get this done to have a fun and active summer!

Again for my other readers: People do not just develop anemia overnight; A person who eats meat has a 2-3 year supply of Vitamin B12 in their liver. Vegetarians and vegans who are not getting enough Vitamin B12 (which naturally comes from animal products) can have symptoms after  ~5 years after they have depleted their liver supply (pernicious anemia).

Helpful links: http://www.webmd.com/diet/iron-rich-foods  

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/anemia-000009.htm

Good luck and hope you can start running soon =) You’ll accomplish your dream I know it! 

I hope so; I’m gonna be a doctor! 

Cream is just milk-fat. When they make milk, they spin out all the fat to make non-fat milk. Then to make 1%, 2%, or whole milk, they add back some of the original fat which is now consolidated in a creamy mixture.  I actually really enjoy Fage 2% Greek yogurt because it’s richer, tastier, and less tart then  the 0%. However it’s about 50 calories more per serving that the 0% so I usually am turned away from  (I don’t like it thatttt much more) purchasing it. I buy it when it’s the only type of sale though! It’s a great substitute for regular ice cream or frozen yogurt though! Try it and see if you prefer the taste or can do without it.

Hi! When I was following a vegetarian diet, I got a lot of recipes from Vegetarian Times and got lots of ideas from their 28 Day Veggie Boot Camp, http://www.vegetariantimes.com/vegbootcamp/ . There’s a meal plan and newsletters to help your through the month. Will you be eating eggs? If so, that opens up a lot of options for filling meals. Browse recipes which incorporate:

• beans, lentils 
• wheatberry
• quinoa 
• broccoli  
• non-fat dairy
• curry sauces (tasty!)

Here’s one of my recipes for vegetarian spaghetti squash: http://surfnrunnr.tumblr.com/post/11383049917/spaghetti-squash-marinara-packed-with-protein-and 

Good luck! I hope you’ll enjoy your veggie-filled summer!