When I was younger, “hormones in the milk” was an often talked about subject. Some people rolled their eyes saying this was ridiculous - but some could imagine the correlation. It was the reasoning behind prepubescent girls getting their periods at age 9 or 10. It was all about the hormones in the milk. Meanwhile, Jergens most popular, most innovative product was the tanning lotions. Not the strong stuff that was basically a dye, but the stuff that you just kept using and it

Considering that I am writing this in May, It may seem a bit out of season. But my best advice is to bookmark this is write it down to prep for nest winter. I come from sunny Los Angeles and lived for many years in cold and rainy Berlin. I know that Seasonal Affective Disorder is a real thing. It often gets worse with every winter. First, let me say that there is NOTHING wrong with you. Winter is a hard time for everyone. It is the energy and nature of the season. It is repre

One of the biggest health pirates in our diet is sugar. I’m sure you have all heard about how bad sugar is, but if you REALLY knew what regular consumption of sugar does to our bodies, I don't think you would need much more convincing. Sugar not only keeps us fat and wrecks havoc on our hormonal response to just about everything, it inhibits the work of white blood cells, causes migraines, stiffens arteries and impairs proper brain function. In fact, scientists are starting t

A few years back I did a head first dive into the metaphysical and occult. And just as you suspected, it gets weird after a while and hard to separate truth from paranoia. But before I left, I pick up some insanely useful methods of project planning and execution. None of this is new knowledge. Before we had modern science and Facebook, the people of the earth tracked patterns and cycles in nature for answers and information. This art is largely lost today as we rely on peopl

Its a basic principal in chemistry that "like dissolves like." Therefore, oil dissolves oil. I'm sure you have heard by now that oils cleansing is all the rage. Even Neutrogena has an oil based cleanser. I am super happy about that, I have been using this method happily since 2011. I was preparing for a long backpacking trip and kind of broke. At the time I was looking to make my beauty routine as portable as possible. At the same time, I needed to do it with product that I c

Let me just start by saying that if you are a person who loves to cook or someone who relishes in being hyper organized and planned ahead, then this article is probably not for you. For those of you who are busy and just trying to do better and feed you family healthier meal, this article is for you. Let’s talk about Meal Prep What it is Many people have a fantasy or have been wrongly told that they need to do meal prep in order to eat right and get in shape. Folks hear this

Cacao is, at it best, the raw and powered form of the Theobroma Cacao bean. It is the basic material that chocolate is derived from. Do not get CACAO confused with COCOA. Cocoa is the stuff you make hot chocolate from. Cacao (kah-Kaw) is the unprocessed form of this. Nutrient Information There is awesome news for those that are chocoholics: You can have chocolate and still be healthy. But it will not be in the form of the stuff you get at candy stores or even the fine chocola

“What’s the point unless you are having a good time!?” This has been my unofficial motto for years. Why kill yourself in the gym, why work long hours, why wait in line unless you are going to enjoy this life. I truly believe it too. What is the point of doing what you are doing unless you are having a good time. You may or may not remember the very telling headline of our time Man Goes to Mexico to Kill Himself, Ends up Spending a Week Banging Hookers and Doing Cocaine, Decid

If you drive an electric car but shop for clothes at large boutiques regularly, you can check your sung self at the door. Your “climate friendly car” is doing nothing to curtail emissions when your wardrobe is toxic. The Prius and Tesla is nothing but a virtue signaling fashion piece to make you feel better about yourself compared to all those who still pump gas. Let’s talk about the climate. No matter what side of the political fence you are on, we can all agree that it is o

Most of us long for a good looking physique and desperately scramble trying to get one. Too much scattered effort and not enough results are the fruits of lack of knowledge. There are many things that go into being well trained and it not just weightlifting and running. When you InstaHeros say its a lifestyle, they are right. You cant take the average american office worker and just tack on 45 minutes of gym time to 5 days of their week. While it will make some benefits, what

If you have recently had a baby, congratulations to you and your growing family! This is quite an experience and you are a stronger woman for it. No really! The Mayans and Aztecs likened child birth to going to war. Women who were mothers were just as much warriors as the young men who fought to preserve the tribe. This is a delicate time for your body. Unfortunately western medicine is waaaaay behind the ball when it comes to rehabilitating a postpartum body. Doctors are sim

Pregnancy and fitness is a topic that is finally starting to get some serious research and heat in the fitness industry. We have all seen pregnant women and some of us have even side-eyed them for working out. Even the ancient greek philosopher Socrates noticed that the active slave women fared easier pregnancies and faster recovery times. Well, the good new is, you can work hard and carry a baby. In fact it is ENCOURAGED to do so. There is no need for you to greatly reduce p

Finding a new gym, visiting a new gym and going to a gym for the first time can be an intimidating experience for many. It is only with some time served and thought that you know what you want out of a gym and how to walk in with purpose. Good thing you are reading this. I have been in probably HUNDREDS of gyms and talked to THOUSANDS of gym goers - both happy and unhappy - and I know what you need to consider before choosing a gym. Before you sign on the dotted line, know th

I believe it was Marilyn Monroe who once said “True beauty is learned.” I have always believed that and taken in to heart when caring for myself. We live in a culture where, up until recently, women are have been told that only skinny, blonde and blue eyed was beautiful. And if you weren’t, then beauty came from within. What a crock. Beauty lies somewhere in between. Beauty is weird, it is unique, it is graceful and it is lingering. Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder -

You have moved past the beginner stage. You have gone to the gym for over 8 months, showing up at least 3 or 4 times a week CONSISTENTLY. For a real beginner, you can follow the same program for two years, only increasing the weights used, and you will most likely still see results. Once you are past this, past 6-12 month of consistent work, you can start to play with your program and incorporate other things. This is when we start playing with supersets, metcons and 1 RM. Ye

There are many theories on training and a lot of them are pretty good. No, really, they are. Because most people are over-fat and under moved, Literally anything they do will be useful and benefit them greatly. Physical fitness is 80% you DOING SOMETHING and 20% WHAT you do. When we get into weightlifting, we want to work the body evenly and towards our goals. So lets go over how to plan your training for the week. A well thought out training program will have some guidelines

Let's talk about exercise selection. Most women do ridiculous, complex movements that include a lunge twist, press and toe tap ("thats ONE") with 4 pound weights. They are told that this will target you bum and slim your waist and tone shoulders, when this move in fact does NONE of that. Most likely, this kind of advice will give you shoulder impingements and be tiring without changing one thing on your body. Listen Ladies, I love you and respect you so here it is: For the

As a Los Angeles native, one of the things that gives me great joy is watching the modern health movement turn more towards natural remedies and preventative maintenance; formerly known as “Hippy Sh*t.” This is a great shift for us: for our health, for our planet and for our wallet. At their worst, most ayurvedic treatments do nothing and cost very little. At best, they actually help that is ailing you, produce less waste than single-use, overly packaged goods and give you ow

The reasons we can't sleep at night are usually the same reasons we don't truly live during the day. Michael Xavier Sleep research has been painfully scant through the last century. Outside of the “What Happens When We Sleep” physiology basics we learn in middle school, deeper knowledge about sleep is pretty sparse. I talk alot about sleep and recovery. Maybe because I have always been someone who requires more sleep than most. I try for eight to nine hours a night, happening

Like many, I do my best to kind, considerate and helpful. In a functioning society it is what you do when you want...well, belonging in your community and a handful of healthy relationships. But there seems to be something by which I just can’t help being annoyed, and the offenders are mostly women. It’s an annoying habit of saying “sorry,” asking permission to do something, making excuses for delays and explaining themselves. It seems like someone who is trying not to take u