Mar122019

3 Things You Should Know About Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a treatment alternative that employs the use of Chinese medicine and techniques to treat pain. This process involves inserting small needles into specific points and at different depths of the skin. The needles are inserted in acupuncture points where they are set to balance energy to relieve pain and heal many conditions. The procedure also boosts the well-being of individuals through stimulation and proper blood flow. Below are a few things you should know about this old practice:

Mar112019

What is an ESA? Our Experience with CertaPet

FULL DISCLOSURE. That is what this experience was all about. A few months ago, a representative from CertaPet reached out to us to partner with the blog. We receive many requests like this every day, but ignore a lot of them for many reasons. They might be supporting something we don’t or it might not be related to our mission here, which is to help you all find a happy and healthy life. I was intrigued with this one because 1) you know we’re huge animal lovers and 2) my other career is in animal welfare. I talk about Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) every single day. People call me and ask where to get ESA letters, if their landlord can charge them pet rent, what an ESA is, etc. I figured it couldn’t hurt to see if this service was legitimate, since there are so many different ones out there.

Mar112019

Do Health Hacks Actually Work?

There are so many products that are available in just about every market imaginable. It takes days, weeks and sometimes even months of research before you decide which TV or car to buy. In Los Angeles, there are thousands of fitness facilities, which means there are so many hairs to split when figuring out which one is the best for you. You can just look at price or location, or take other factors into consideration as well. With the increase of visibility from social media, especially Facebook, you’re being bombarded with targeted ads and marketing every moment that you’re awake.

Almost everyone, especially here in Los Angeles, has to work two or three jobs to pay rent. Unless you inherited money or are supported by your parents (or the few true success stories) you rarely have enough time to take care of yourself. You might eat poorly or skip workouts because you’re so broke or exhausted from having to work so much, that you’re always looking for shortcuts to help. Whether that means holistic medicine to avoid expensive doctor trips (read about my $6,000 an hour ER visit at Cedars) or magical pills that burn fat off your body while you’re sleeping, there are many temptations available just one click away, thanks to Amazon.

The question is: are they worth it?

Mar092019

Whole-Wheat Banana Bread

Our typical uses of bananas include oatmeal, yogurt parfaits, and in peanut butter sandwiches. However, sometimes things come up or other meals fulfill us, and we are left with browning bananas. Do we throw them out? Absolutely not! How dare you suggest such blasphemy. There is so much you can do with bananas: you can make cookies, muffins, or…bread! You can still keep it healthy, even though you’re baking. This whole-wheat banana bread recipe is simple, quick, and delicious. The prep time is basically nothing, but you do have to wait in front of the oven like a starving kitten.

Mar012019

Fuel Up Like Gronk: Chris Gronkowski’s Guide to Protein Shakes

[Please enjoy a guest article from former NFL player, Chris Gronkowski!]

Why Should You Drink Protein Shakes?

No matter your workout goals, protein shakes are beneficial to your diet and your exercise routine. If you’re looking to build more muscle, upping your protein intake stimulates your muscle growth. Proteins are made up of amino acids, which are essential to building muscles, so drinking protein shakes throughout the day will amp up this process.

For those looking to lose weight, protein shakes can be a healthy meal replacement that will ensure you get enough protein while decreasing your calorie intake. Losing weight involves eating a healthy diet and burning off more calories than you consume. Replacing your breakfast with a protein shake is an excellent way to fuel up for the day during a diet.

Feb182019

5 Steps To Raising A Challenging Millennial

Aging is inevitable and happens to everyone. But while aging is a biological process, being an adult is more of a social concept. Becoming an adult is not as simple as turning into legal age. When a person comes of age (18 in most countries), it is expected that he or she can already carry out the duties and responsibilities expected of fully developed individuals. Unfortunately, not everyone has learned most of the life skills that are essential to living independently by the time they reach the so-called age of majority. Today’s generation uses the term “adulting” when referring to activities that they have to do in order to simply survive day to day living. Adulting has become a byword for many millennials, it is what they call the things they do to cope with everyday life when they are not prepared to transition into adulthood. Many millennials will benefit from taking lessons such as Adulting 101: Millennial Life Skills Classes to help them handle different situations. Life skills can be taught to young adults so they can be better prepared to face the world. Here is a simple guide to raising today’s generation.

Feb172019

Virtual Reality is the Future of Fitness

Virtual reality is the future of fitness; you’re hearing it here, although this probably isn’t the first or last time you’ll hear it. Recently, we attended a special VIP influencer event for the kinda grand opening of a new VR spot in LA… Dreamscape. While we couldn’t stand a lot of the other influencers that were there (they thought they were really important, and were referring to themselves as influencers), we are very excited to return. They had three different options and we decided to be a part of a mission to save a baby whale. The experience was immersive and although it was less interactive than The Void (we did a Star Wars VR there), it was an amazing experience.

Feb162019

Fighting the Good Fight: Jameela Jamil

Cellulite. Stretch marks. Body hair. These are just a few things that women have that are deemed unacceptable in most of Western culture. We’ve discussed the battle against cellulite and the battle for body positivity, but it is a tough war. The cards are stacked against us, so we need all the voices we can get. One powerful emerging voice is Jameela Jamil, actress on the Good Place who plays Tahani al-Jamil. (Super side note: The Good Place is a freaking fantastic show. Watch it).

Feb142019

Our Valentine – 5 Years of Noke

On February 14th, 2014, we adopted Sarah (later to become Noke) from the Humane Society of Boulder Valley, in Boulder, Colorado. On January 7th, 2014, Sarah and her sister Sandra were turned in as strays, by a citizen, to the Gallup McKinley County Humane Society in Gallup, New Mexico. They estimated her birthday to be November 8th, 2013. She was transferred from Gallup to Boulder, in order to help her find a positive outcome. One January 25th, when they moved her to the clinic to be spayed, she was lethargic and has a 103.8 degree fever. She also had a hot spot lesion on her left side that she was chewing at. Her skin scrape was negative, but her parvo test was positive. Her shelter notes were sad… she chewed through her IV over night and spilled her food and water everywhere. She had alopecia on both inner thighs and her left shoulder… it was EXTREMELY itchy. Even though the deep skin scrape came back negative for mites, the vet started treating her for sarcoptic mange.

Feb122019

Returning to Meditation

I used to be really into meditation. I did it daily. I even taught a class on it back in the day. It was one of my daily habits, but somewhere along the last year, it’s kind of dropped out of sight. There are so many benefits to meditating. It can help clear stress, focus your mind, and generally get a better hold on mental health. I think it strengthens willpower, mental fortitude, and gives me tools to get through high-stress situations. It’s finding a safe rock through violent storms, a moment of quiet in a crowded room. The benefits are endless and can be different for each person. So why did I stop? Life, laziness, lack of priorities. At the very least, I’ve become aware of my failing habit and I’ve set a course to correct it. One of my annual goals is to meditate 4x/week and I’ve been semi doing okay on that goal.