The Tequila Diet

I hate drinking.  It's not that I don't like catching a much need buzz from time to time, but the act of drinking alcohol just doesn't appeal to me.  As a selective vegan (don't put a brownie in front of my face) and someone who's obsessed with staying fit, posioning myself through drinking just doesn't make sense with my lifestyle. However, I'm still human.  Welcome tequila...

Living in NYC and Hoboken now, my work and social life revolves around cocktails. I typically order a glass of wine and nurse it for the night simply so I don't have to hear, "Why aren't you drinking?" over and over again.  When your preferred drink is ice water, you're automatically labeled as no fun.  And then, when everyone around you catches a good buzz, being the only sober person really isn't fun.

Recent research presented at the American Chemical Society this week suggests that agavins, the natural sugar found in the tequila-producing agave plant, can help with weight loss and diabetes.  How?  Because unlike other sugars, agavins aren't absorbed into the body and since they're a source of fiber, they'll make people feel fuller, longer.

This had me thinking.  I actually Googled "benefits of drinking tequila" since I knew that the it was low in calories to begin with and this Forbes article came up.  Since there are about 100 calories in a shot of tequila, and you know the saying: one tequila, two tequila, three tequila... it wouldn't be such a sin.  While agavins aren't on the market yet, I could be a fan of the skinny girl margarita for now.  Sour mix? Ew. Save it for the fatties.

Eat to Be Skinny: The Perfect Salad Formula

You've either heard this statement before or it may surprise you and come off as obnoxious. Either way, it's important to understand because it's true.

Eat to be skinny.  Workout to be fit.

In America, 68% of the population is overweight and while being super skinny isn't attractive, being healthy is.  I met with Nutritionist, Dara Godfrey, to chat about a healthy eating outlook and the truth behind how to properly eat a salad (yes, there's a formula).

When it comes to eating healthy you need to make sure you're getting the right amount of nutrients your body needs to keep your energy levels up and systems in check.  Believe it or not, the perfect salad has fat in it!

"In order for your body to absorb the vitamins and minerals from your salad you need to add a source of fat," comments Godfrey.  "Otherwise, you may be eating lots of veggies, but they're not  being absorbed properly."

For the perfect salad combo, she recommends:

• dark leafy greens
• 1 lean protein
• 3 veggies
• good fat source

The fat can be anything like a hint of cheese or walnuts to avocado.  Don't let the term "fat" scare you.  It's good fat.

New Smoking Alternative Worth Trying

I'm proud to admit that I was never one of those people who thought smoking was cool growing up, therefore I never smoked, but enough of my friends have and still do. Cigarettes cause more than one in five deaths and over 50,000 people die from second hand smoke in the U.S. alone. Let that marinate a minute. To this day, it still shocks me that people are still smoking.  I know quitting is much harder to do than it sounds, but I had to introduce you to a new smoking alternative, the SmokeStik, an electronic cigarette.  After Michael Douglas' battle with throat cancer, his wife, Catherine Zeta Jones, began quitting smoking with the SmokeStik as her alternative.  It's shocking to me that it takes a scare to get people to want to quit.

The SmokeStik acts like a cigarette, but instead of smoking tobacco and tar, you're smoking a mist of liquid glycerine, proplyene glycol and food grade flavorings that are vaporized and FDA approved.

A Celeb Nutritionist Spills Her Secrets

I've always been into health and fitness, but recently a blogger friend, Sarah Conley, turned me onto green juice in the morning.  In her words, "it makes you vibrate."  I didn't quite understand what she meant until I tried it.  I've been drinking Naked Juice Green Machine, but was introduced to Kimberly Snyder who creates a green juice from scratch called the Glowing Green Smoothie and is the nutritionist to some of our favorite stars such as Drew Barrymore, Olivia Wilde and Channing Tatum and the author of The Beauty Detox.  Check out what she has to say: What inspired you to become a celebrity nutritionist?

I bring a unique perspective to my work in that I first traveled around the world for three years, to over 50 countries, and learned beauty and health secrets from cultures worldwide which look much younger and more vibrant than we do. I came back and became a clinical nutritionist, to get the scientific backup for my discoveries.

Because my program is so different than what’s out there, it attracted the attention of some actors looking to get in shape for a movie role. It worked out great, and I continued to meet other actors as word spread.

What type of nutritional advice did you give them?

No matter whom I’m talking to, I always start with explaining the basic principals of my program, which are outlined in Part 1 of the The Beauty Detox Solution. My philosophy shows the powerful link between beauty, health and energy. We all have this amazing potential within us, what I call Beauty Energy, and learning how to unlock it is the key to growing younger, slimming down easily and having abundant energy throughout the day.

Digestion can take up over half of our energy, so if we want to feel and look our best, we need to free up that energy from digestion and have it work for us and our health and beauty goals. I always emphasize that it’s not just the foods that we’re eating, but also the way we are eating our foods, which include the order and combination in which we eat.

What are your clients’ goals? Were they met?

My actors have the same goals that we all have. They want to have a slim, firm body, radiant, youthful skin and feel energetic all day.

The great news is that we can all achieve these goals by starting with our diet and building from the inside out! Since around 98% of our total bodies’ cells renew every year, if we start making positive changes today we will start to improve now and reverse much of the past damage, even if we haven’t eaten perfectly in the past.

What nutritional advice do you have for women in general about having a balanced diet?

My program is also about debunking myths, since so many people and women in particular focus on eating foods to lose weight…but those same foods are aging them at an accelerated rate. It shows up right on their face in the form of deepening lines and wrinkles, under-eye circles and dull skin. What good is it to be a size 6 or a size 2 if we look 10 years older than we really are?

We need to pay attention not just to micromanaging numbers- calories, grams of carbs, etc. but foster a more holistic approach to what’s really healthy, and how foods are digesting in the body. Every food we eat is either making us more acidic or more alkaline. When we are more alkaline we have an abundance of oxygen in our tissues and we become more beautiful. We know all the counting isn’t working- or otherwise why would dieting be a billion dollar industry? We also spend increasingly more money on makeup and beauty products in the hopes of replicating natural beauty. These products should enhance the inner beauty we all have within, not be a substitute for it.

Summer is right around the corner, what types of foods should women steer clear of and what types of foods should they embrace in order to look fab in their bikini?

My Glowing Green Smoothie is what I make for all my celebrity clients, and it is the fuel that will start to rejuvenate your skin, cleanse out aging and bloating toxins, and help you slim down for summer while still feeling great. It’s basically a blend of raw greens and ripe fruit, so what you taste is the sweetness of the fruit. It’s super easy, and one of the easiest things we can all every day to accelerate cleansing on a daily basis! You drink it in the morning, when our bodies are in “cleanse mode.”

Stay away from processed foods that are high in sodium and preservatives, as well as dairy. Try to reduce your consumption of highly allergetic foods that have digestive issues, which include soy and gluten. Lastly, cut out all artificial sugars and sweeteners, which are definitely not beautifying.