One way to clean up after a bad day of eating

Had a BIG bad food day yesterday… burgers, fries, chicken wings, you name it! Time to clean it up today! Having one of my extremely nutritious, delicious and cleansing drinks made with only some of the world's healthiest ingredients.

A handful of spinach, half a red bell pepper, one glass of water (250 mL or 8 oz), a nickel-sized chunk of ginger, and mint leaves. There's so much goodness in this glass of juice!..

…just to name a few: there's a ton of natural vitamins and minerals; not to mention the high vitamin C in the peppers helps the body absorb the (non heme) iron in the spinach. The peppers also add natural sweetness, so put more if you like.

Ginger and mint are cleansing, and also provide antioxidants among many other benefits. :)

Drink 2-3 glasses throughout the day adding to it 1-2 "clean" well-balanced meals. Here are some ideas on clean, lean and delicious meal combos. Click here for: 3 meals that change the way you look and feel.

My special Valentine message for you :)

Part 1 of 2

In any relationship, mistakes are inevitable; lessons are necessary; and forgiveness... well, it's mandatory—if you want to heal with peace in your heart. If you truly want to celebrate Valentine's day, celebrate it by being more understanding of the one you claim to love. If you truly want fulfillment with others, then learn to be patient and guide them in their evolution. Yes, I said GUIDE, not force. There is a huge difference. 

The way to offer true love to another is to display or suggest healthier options in a loving way, while also detaching from the outcome—in other words, don't be so rigid with expectations. 

So how do you detach from the outcome? You must learn to be open and trust the process. Allow others to choose their lessons. Don't be so quick to judge their choices. In life, we get what we put into it. So if you want the best, put in your best—offer true love... offer compassion.

Trust that as long as you're conducting authentically from a place of love, you cannot—in one form or another—receive the opposite; this means what is not of true love in nature will eventually find a way to leave your life.

You see, true love can only attract more truths—true friendships, true connections, true fulfillment. This kind of force is part of the Universal Law—the same Law that governs the existence of gravity. You can't deny the way gravity works anymore than you can deny the way true love works. These powerful Laws of Nature are constant and undeniable.

P.S. Here's an article I wrote a while ago if you want to read more. Read: In order to experience Love to the fullest degree, you need to understand this.

Part 2 of 2

Other than going for dinner or exchanging gifts, why not create something that celebrates love throughout the year? This is something you can do with your partner, your best friend, or even your kids; start a "happy-love box"!

Basically, each of you get to write down on little pieces of paper all the things you would like to experience or do together—something you both can enjoy. It could be picnic in a tree house, dining at a cool restaurant, taking a small trip together, having your friends over for wine and poker. And if you're lovers, well...ahem, you can suggest x-rated stuff. :) It could be anything. Get creative. Just keep it light-hearted and fun.

Then, put all these little pieces of paper in that special happy-love box. You can keep adding to this box anytime as often as you like, never letting it go empty. At least once a week, shake the box and randomly pull out a piece of paper, and together, do whatever is suggested on that piece of paper. Okay? :)

Want another idea? Try this: Something small like this can mean so much. Click here.

Happy Valentine's Day! :) xo

— Though love is only a four-letter word, its depth and beauty makes our language seem so limiting when we try to define it in its entirety.

It's not what you do, it's how you do it

"How can you stay in shape with only three 30-minute workouts per week?" I get asked that quite a bit. I believe it's not what you do, it's how you do it.

I change up my workouts often; one time strength training or bootcamp stuff, next time plyometrics, other time martial arts and so on — I like to keep my body guessing and moving in many directions. This way, it is always challenged. When it's challenged, it won't get lazy, it responds with results. So to answer the question simply, let's refer to my cardio interval and strength training days...

I keep it short, move fast, breathe hard, lift heavy and take very little breaks — all the while maintaining good form. If the weights start to feel too heavy to bear, but I want to keep moving, I switch weights as I go. If I'm out of breath, I slow down — sometimes, way down... but I try not to stop, I keep moving. 

If I need a break, I keep them short (10-15 seconds at a time), catch my breath and continue. I don't beat myself up if I need to take many rounds of short breaks in order to continue.

Taking short breaks gives your body a chance to catch up so you can continue to perform well and prevent injuries. So take the breaks, and soon you'll find yourself taking less and less breaks as your body becomes more and more conditioned and empowered!

Here's a quick glimpse of my workout at the gym today. Feel free to try it if you're a regular gym-goer. If this is new to you, don't worry, you can modify the moves. Details below.

Remember, always spend 5-10 minutes warming up and mimicking the moves before you even think about executing the actual workout. After the workout, always stretch. Your body can only perform at its best given the proper warm up and stretches.

Please modify the moves to suit your fitness level (as per below: Quick tips for beginners). Here are the details on this workout:

- 30-40 box jump into squat

- 12-15 dive under push up

- 12-15 (each arm) one-arm row in a lunge

- 12-15 narrow squat with lateral raise

- 15-20 tricep dips

(Repeat the entire set of exercises for a total of 3 rounds.)

Then, immediately go straight into core exercises:

- 10-12 v-sit up with weights (or no weights)

- 20 torso twist with weights (or no weights)

(Repeat this core sequence of exercises for a total of 2-3 rounds.)

Quick tips for beginners:

- For the box jumps, keep your box or steps much lower so you don’t have to jump so high. You can slowly advance in time. Remember to perform a squat when you're on the step.

- Or instead of jumping, just step up onto the stepper the same way you would walk up the stairs. 

- Use less weights and move slowly, you can always build up from there.

- Go for the lower number of reps based on the range that I’ve suggested, or find a rep range most comfortable for you to start with.

- For the push-up, just perform regular push-ups on your knees (but be sure to have something soft for your knees to rest on).

- For the narrow squat with lateral raise, just perform a half squat. That means your knees do not have to be at a 90-degree bend like mine. Just come down to a 45-degree knee-bend for now.

- For the tricep dips, to make it easier, bend your knees more by bringing your feet closer to your body. You can then use your legs to assist you in pushing your body up.

- For the v-sit up, don’t use weights. Bend your knees to make it easier. Still difficult? Just do regular crunches and reverse crunches for now.

- For the torso twist, don’t use weights, just clasp your hands together. Also, instead of leaning your body back to a 45-degree angle during the twist, just sit up a little straighter and keep both feet on the ground.

Okay, now go have some fun burning up fat! :)

Be sure to stretch after. Watch my video on How To Stretch All Your Major Muscles Without Pain.

— Remember, if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you!

**Wait!! Want more? :) Check out more short fat-burning workouts here.