How To Keep Your Smile Beautiful and Pearly White
I get asked this Question all the time. Do you have veneers? Did you just bleach your teeth? No. My smile and teeth are a huge priority to me. Not just for physical reasons but because taking care of your teeth is extremely important for the health of your body. I have always brushed my teeth twice a day religiously just because I knew I was supposed to. My cousin Ashlee was a dental assistant for a while and she also informed me that FLOSSING is even more important than brushing to remove plaque, prevent bad breath and also to prevent heart disease. When you have a bunch of plaque built up in your mouth and all that bacteria it actually goes back into your body and causes more problems, not just with your mouth. Since she told me that I have been flossing every single morning right when I wake up and every single night before bed. There is no way I am letting my laziness effect my heart or any other problems.
so let’s take it back a little bit. I had braces for 6 years when I was younger and now I have a permanent retainer on both the top and the bottom teeth. This retainer is awesome because I never have to worry about remembering to put one on, but it is also forever so I have to use a special floss to floss around it on those teeth. I have never professionally whitened my teeth at the dentist, I have used Crest White Strips before and then Listerine Pre-Brush whitening rinse. I always brush with the Crest Whitening toothpaste which also works wonders.
I asked my really good friend Sarah Boyle what she does for her teeth, because they are super white and beautiful. She has used Crest white strips in the past but she loves using baking soda. She sprinkles a little bit on top of her toothpaste and then “smile and brush” she says. I ALWAYS hit up Sarah for advice because she is just like me and loves to be healthy from head-to-toe… inside and out! I always say this but this is YOUR body, YOUR life, and (in this case) YOUR smile. Make sure you take care of your ENTIRE BODY not just wishing and hoping to be as skinny as the airbrushed super models. :p
Here a few more links about the importance of brushing/flossing for your health:
Anonymous asked: Hi Lunden, I have been working out for sometime and i eat pretty clean, although i could cut out a few unhealthy snacks. My question is, although i see my body getting a lot leaner i'm starting to see more cellulite appear than i had when i weighed more. Is there a reason for this or something i can do about it?
Good question… usually when people start to lose weight the cellulite tends to go away BUT not always… genetics can play a large roll as well as going back and forth on fad diets and things like that. Check out these few sites that I found and hopefully they can perhaps pinpoint the reason you are getting more cellulite!
Anonymous asked: U just said fat is good for you. Anyone who has every trained seriously, with a focus on their performance can attest to this, but 2 days ago you took the egg yolks out of your breakfast? What's the deal?
Anytime I am eating breakfast I go for a GOOD carb, lean protein, vegetables and GOOD fat… high cholesterol runs in my family so I try to stay away from things like egg yolks and cashews which are high in cholesterol. For eggs I usually get my fat from a little bit of olive oil on the pan or avocado on top. Sometimes I will even do like 3 egg whites and one egg yolk if I am putting it inside of a sandwich or something… it just depends on what I am eating my eggs with. Egg whites are an AWESOME lean protein which is what I like best :)
Stop being afraid of FAT!
When we hear the word “fat” we naturally think it makes us so. Now that can be true with foods that are high in BAD fats (saturated fat and trans fat) but there are actually GOOD fats called Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. BAD fats are found in processed foods, packaged foods, greasy fast food, etc. These bad fats increase your bad cholesterol and it becomes a whole BAD mess. Good fats are found in foods like olive oil, avocados, walnuts, almonds, peanuts, pistachios, flax seeds, salmon, safflower oil, sunflower oil and grapeseed oil. Now this is the part that matters…. your body actually needs these fats in order to absorb the nutrients from other foods that you eat… like vegetables. There have been studies I have seen that show a drastic increase in beta-carotene absorption when it is consumed with a good fat. Beta-carotene is found in things like carrots and tomatoes.
BOTTOM LINE: your body needs these GOOD fats
Ways to incorporate good fats into your diet:
- saute veggies in olive oil
- use olive oil as a salad dressing
- add flax seeds to oatmeal or protein shake
- add avocado to a sandwich or salad
- add chopped nuts to a salad or eat mixed nuts as a snack with cherry tomatoes
Yoga mats on sale at Target! $9.17 each!!! If you are using your Mat for outdoor workouts you know that it gets dirty and torn up pretty quickly. Most of the time these mats are around $19.99 or $29.99…. so I pretty much got two for the price of one. Check out your local target to see if they are running the sale also— the brand is Embark Yoga Mat!! Happy shopping and kick up your workout a notch!! Summer is so close
Quick and easy snack!
-one big dollop of non-fat plain Greek yogurt
-pineapple, blueberries and raspberries
*other things to add: raw oats, flax seeds, slivered almonds, bananas, etc.
Just a quick,easy,healthy, protein rich snack :)
Quality breakfast! Protein (4 egg whites) and good carbs (fruits,veggies,oatmeal)
My favorite meal of the day!
Dinner for Dad and I
Chicken Salad
- organic spring mix and organic spinach base
-1/2 tomato
- red onion
- grilled chicken
-1/2 avocado
-3 sliced fresh strawberries
-diced red bell pepper
-banana peppers
-little bit of goat cheese
-olive oil and balsamic with ground pepper to finish
*side of whole-wheat sour dough bread not seen in photo*
It was SOO delicious!!!!
Extra coffee at the bottom of the pot you are not going to drink? Save it and put it in in a container in the fridge to keep it cold … Use it for your liquid base in a protein shake.
Banana-coffee protein shake
-1 cup cooled coffee
-1 banana
-1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
-ice cubes
BLEND. Awesome source of protein that will give you a little energy kick without wasting left over coffee :)
Feedback
Choose Sparking water to get the carbonation a lot of people crave about soda!!!! Little helpful hint on ways to kick the soda habit.
Never leave the house empty-handed! This morning for breakfast I had a half cup of oatmeal with blueberries, blackberries and 1 tbsp flaxseeds, as well as two slices of low-sodium turkey for some added protein. The picture above is what I brought to snack on until lunchtime :) I have one serving of almonds, one banana and a vegetable bag with cherry tomatoes and some sweet peppers. That’s sweet peppers are pretty much just like bell peppers but smaller and they have minimal seeds on the inside so you can just eat them whenever hunger strikes. I usually eat them while driving but you can always dip them in hummus or a low-fat dressing/spread for some added flavor— if you’re eating at the office or at home! Remember that eating healthy is just as important as making it to the gym but it does not have to be extremely complicated… Love you all keep being healthy!!
Don’t let your self be unprepared when hunger strikes! If you are continually eating every three hours (as you should to optimize your metabolism ). your body will start to feel hungry in those intervals because it is ready and expecting its next meal for FUEL! Snack packed: an apple, walnuts, cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, whole wheat flatbread. And of course DFINE8!! That is for my snack around 830 or 9 o’clock this morning. For breakfast I had half a cup of oatmeal with fresh strawberries and cinnamon as well as a protein shake with mixed berries , almond milk and freeze-dried organic greens. :)
WHY BEING FIT AND HAVING A CLEAN DIET IS SO IMPORTANT!!!!
So 13 days ago I slipped and fell and hurt my hip and back (to make a long story short). The fall did not seem to be a big deal at all and I immediately jumped up and didn’t miss a beat. Five hours after my fall I could barely walk. It has been 13 days today and I have spent the entire day in bed resting because it is STILL sore and not fully healed. Now this freaked me out because I work out 6-7 days a week, lead a completely healthy lifestyle through and through. ALL ANGLES. What would have happened to me if I had not been fit? Would I have been able to even get up from the fall in the first place? Would I be out for months and months?? I asked my chiropractor this question because I was in a lot of pain. His response was spot on— He told me that he has treated patients who have been in the same car accident and the “less fit” one takes 9 months to heal and the other “more fit” one only a few weeks. THANK GOD I AM FIT because I cannot imagine the pain I would be in had I not. Working out is amazing because it keeps your body strong and helps prevent injury— or in my case, heal injury a lot faster than it would otherwise on a not-so-fit person!
Now this picture I took today after 13 days of not working out….I can maintain my weight and my physique because I eat well. That is why building CLEAN and HEALTHY eating habits is so important because at this point my diet is all I have!! I cut my portion size slightly with meals due to the fact that I am not burning NEARLY as much calories a day as I am used to. This injury could have been an awesome opportunity to put on the pounds and I kind of had to snap myself back to reality. i was really sad that I could not workout- and after 3 days turned to a week it was even more difficult to sit still. But I really took hold of myself and repeated the phrase “abs are made in the kitchen” over and over again so that I would realize that my eating patterns are going to make or break this situation!
This is why being healthy is SO STINKIN’ important!!!!!!!!! You cannot have one without the other and expect to reap the benefits. I am a true testimony to this because I went from being physically active virtually all day to barely being able to walk from my bedroom to the kitchen! Today I can walk, drive, and move around ALOT better but the back soreness and ache is still there and I still have to take it easy. Thanks to my mom and Hilda Castillo for reminding me that I need to slow down and take it easy so this injury doesn’t effect me the rest of my life!
Let this be a lesson to everyone because it SUCKS to get hurt but it would suck more if I just let myself go!!! <3 xoxo,Lunden
I love it when people send me picture messages of different healthy foods that they are eating throughout the day! This one came from a friend named Clarissa and I immediately asked her if it was ok to share the recipe with EVERYONE here on tumblr. She said yes! WOO. so here it is! Thanks Clarissa :) :)
I used shredded breast chicken
I good size piece of Breast chicken baked @350 for like 30min and then pulled it apart when cooked
I’m kinda obsessed with lemon so I squeezed fresh lemon on the chicken with Mrs. Dash lemon pepper Mmm
Used cabbage as my “taco shell”
Inside the taco was avocados, tomatoes, and I used weight watchers Mexican style blend reduced fat ..Cheese and I was going to put plain Greek yogurt as my sour cream but didn’t have any :(
Hope you like
Clarissa xoxo
About me
I am a Certified Personal Trainer and I also have my BA in Psychology. I absolutely love EVERYTHING about a healthy and fit lifestyle. I am always looking for new and exciting information and I have a PLETHORA of motivation to share!
