hair color

It’s summertime, and most of you like to wear a brighter color in your hair – even you guys out there may wish to go a bit lighter.  Oftentimes a lighter coppery red or reddish tone is a great choice to add into your color during summertime.  A color change such as adding red or lighter colors sometimes seems to fade more quickly than the regular blonde or brunette color that has already been done.  As a general note, any kind of red color is the first to fade, because red contains the largest dye molecules.  Whether you’re a redhead, blonde or brunette, if you are going even a bit lighter/redder, you should always ask your stylist/colorist what he/she could do to prevent hair from premature color fade.  This may include leaving the color on a bit longer or mixing up separate formulas for the base, mid-shaft and ends.  Be sure to ask if he/she is doing a typical “pull through” or using a fresh color formula.  Ask if the formula will be on the mid-shaft and ends and for how long.  Then you need to evaluate which haircare products you’re using at home and you need to make sure that your products are specifically formulated to repair and moisturize, as well as prevent hair from premature color fade.  Lastly, as a general rule, you don’t need to shampoo as often which will help retain your haircolor for a longer period of time.

Along the same lines, when you guys and gals go lighter and/or redder during summertime, many of you have eyebrow tone or eyelash tone that needs to be adjusted to match the new color.  It is definitely possible to tint either or both, and this is a procedure I recommend for a total look of beauty.  Eyebrow and eyelash tinting is very easy to do but I do recommend going to a salon rather than doing it yourself to ensure that your color is in sync and to ensure safety.  For eyebrows, it’s about a 15-20 minute process.  For eyelashes, again, it’s an easy procedure that takes approximately 20 minutes.  The color lasts between three and four weeks and fades gradually on-tone.

During summer, should you choose to lighten your previously color treated hair, you need to prevent your hair from becoming dry, especially at the ends.  The longer the hair is, the older the hair is, the more dimensions/levels of color/chemicals are on the hair, and longer hair doesn’t have the benefit of sebum or hair oils produced at the scalp that keep the hair shaft healthy and shiny.  It is a matter of using really good restorative products, which is why I specifically designed the Marco™ Collagen Color Guard™ HairCare System.  The first and only complete collagen system exclusively developed for color and chemically treated hair, the Marco Collagen Color Guard HairCare System is specifically formulated to prevent premature color fade and create the most positive, therapeutic environment for the hair and scalp.  Always remember that shampoo is for the scalp and conditioning is for the ends.  When you condition, you need to allow time with the conditioner on the ends of your hair.  The concept is just like moisturizing your skin.  It’s important to not over shampoo the hair because it dries out the hair shaft.  All you really need to do is shampoo your scalp and let the shampoo rinse down the ends.

These are just a few tips for you all to think about for the warmer season, and to maintain the quality and intergrity of your hair while doing so. Happy Summer!

This post is for you ladies, mainly.  There’s an enormous pressure to remain stick thin and look impossibly youthful these days, especially if you’re in the entertainment/fashion industry, but that pressure is also felt by any young girl across the world.  I’ve come across so many young women who are taking extreme measures to stay thing: harsh diets, diet pills, skipping meals, barfing, miracle drugs, starvation, and now there’s a new term out there – “drunkorexia”. Growing numbers of young women skip meals to allow them to binge drink without putting on weight.  This “image” problem has been heightened by images of celebrities “lauded” for staying stick-thin while maintaining a hectic social schedule and by all these gorgeous magazine covers which shows them as being absolutely PERFECT.   Just take a look at these before and after photoshop covers, and please bear in mind, this is simply for a reality check.  I don’t want to come across cruel or judgmental to the celebrities show in these pictures:

before and after photoshop

Madonna before and after photoshop

Kim Kardashian before and after photoshop

Faith Hill before and after photoshop

Eating disorders have reached epidemic levels in America– all segments of society are affected: men and women, young and old, rich and poor, all minorities, all socio-economic levels 

�Seven million women �One million men

So don’t get caught up in the fiction and the pressures of staying thin.  You just have to commit and do the work, like the rest of us.  I’m not going to lie and say it’s easy to stay in great shape.  You have to change your lifestyle, commit to eating healthy, and get into a work out routine that works for you.  Also, pick a realistic role model, and not just someone you see on one of those covers.  
YOU have to put in the work — don’t rely on some magic pill or potion, or some fake diet fad, or start drinking senselessly so you can replace your calories, all those things don’t work.
It’s time for a REALITY CHECK, and that’s what we’re here for, to help you or someone you know, go through the rough times, and help you set and attain REAL goals.

Break out the grill, it’s time to barbecue ResultsBy style! This is your guide to healthy burgers for that 4th of July party, if it is at your house…great, if not bring these and you will be the hit of the party while also eating lean. Since it is an Independence day, I wanted to keep it in the good old U.S.A with my famous among my friends Cali burgers. When making burgers or turkey burgers it really is all about the meat, make sure you go to your butcher and get fresh ground lean sirloin or fresh ground turkey breast ESSENTIAL! We will also be making my composed beet salad which is a super food extravaganza and also plate licking good so let’s get to it.

What you'll need

What you will need:

1 lb.lean ground beef or turkey breast ( Again, make sure it is fresh and lean)

Quaker oatmeal

1 egg white

One half of an onion

2 tsp. of garlic powder

1 tsp of pepper

2 tblsp. of Worcestershire sauce

2 tblsp of salt free tomato paste

1 head of iceberg lettuce

For the composed beet salad simple 3 beets and 1 avocado and 2 handfuls of spinach

Lets get prepped!

Chop it up!

Start by chopping up your onion and then in a large mixing bowl add the beef, egg white, oats, onion, pepper, garlic powder, Worcestershire, and tomato past. With your hands get dirty, mix together until the oats soak up all the juices this will keep your turkey or beef juicy. Make the patties into 4 quarter pound burgers and place in the fridge covered. Preheat the grill on medium heat for 10 minutes. I like my burgers medium so 6-8 minutes a side should do the trick.

For the beet salad you will boil water and add the beets and cook for 30 minutes or until soft, drain the water and cut into cubes. Then cut the avocado in half and then again in cubes and add to the beets and stir.

Place the burgers into the lettuce leaves and add the topping of your choice and serve up the beet salad on a bead of spinach and enjoy.

Being from Kansas I love my beef but this recipe works just as well with the turkey. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Happy eating all!

Happy eating

We love our Fridays

A little bonus cooking for you this week. Everyone talks so much about the importance of breakfast and yet there are so few recipes out there for the most important meal of the day, lets change that. Living in southern California the south of the boarder food is amazing. I have had close to a thousand breakfast burritos and yet to find one quite as good as mine, I may be a little bias though. So grab your ingredients and lets cook up the best breaky burrito around!

Your Ingredients

What you will need:

5 egg whites and 1 whole egg

1 avocado

2 tomatoes

4 pieces of bacon or turkey bacon with no nitrates added (Try to get a good organic reduced sodium bacon)

2% shredded cheddar cheese

organic black beans

Hot sauce of your liking (Challula or Tapitio are may favorites)

Low fat sour cream

Whole wheat tortilla (at least 2 grams of fiber)

Lets get prepped!

Let's Chop!

Crack the eggs and seperate the yolks in 5 eggs and and one whole egg and whip up. Dice up the tomatoes, cut the avocado into half and cut long ways and then again in half. Cook up the bacon in a seperate pan with pam, I like it crispy so I cook about 5 minutes a side. In a small pot start heating up the black beans on a low heat. Put the eggs in a separate large frying pan, cook until they are the consistancy you like. Add the avocado and hot sauce and mix together and reduce the heat to low. When the bacon is done remove excess greece by placing on a paper towel and press on each side until dry, then break into bits and add to the eggs and avo and stir again. Add a little cheese on top and let melt. On a seperate burner heat up the tortilla for 20 seconds on each side, put on a plate and add the egg filler, black beans, tomatoes and a tblsp. of sour cream. Wrap it up and enjoy!

Packed with protien, fiber, vitamins and essential fats, this power burrito is perfect for a pre-workout, post-workout or just to start your day. Happy eating all!

1. Eat one hour before your workout- To maximize your workouts you need to eat for fuel, the key is finding foods that will sustain your workouts and not make you crash and burn. Foods high  in sugar will give you instant gratification but then will make you fall short of the finish line.  Here  is a list of my favorite pre workout foods:

Morning workouts: If I have time I will whip up some steel cut oatmeal (The complex carbs give me sustained energy) and a banana( The potassium in bananas will help muscles contract) or blueberries. If I am running out the door, I will have whole wheat toast and almond butter with a banana.

Afternoon workouts: Brown rice or whole wheat pasta (Complex carbs), salmon (high in omega-3 fats and vitamin B)

Beans(Packed with protein, fiber and minerals – they give you sustained energy)

In a pinch: Almonds and yogurt.

2. Drink H2O: This sounds simple but so many of my workouts lack energy because I am dehydrated, if you work out in the morning have water before you go to sleep and again when you wake up. If you work out in the afternoon, drink water through out the day. Men on average should get 3 liters a day and women should get 2.2 liters a day.

3. Set mini goals: We all set those long term goals like, I want to lose 30 pounds or I want a to fit in my old jeans, but don’t forget the little victories t0o. Whether it is lifting 5 pounds more, shaving 30 seconds off your run or making it through an intense workout, set yourself mini goals for each workout.

4. Grab a workout partner: I have a few different people I workout with, that way I am always doing different exercises and I get motivated in different ways. Some of my friends are great runners, some are innovative in the gym and some are great at sports. Pick someone who challenges you for that workout.

5. Use some new gear: Try using a kettlebell, medicine ball, bosu ball or a physio ball in your next workout. By stimulating your mind and body in different ways you will push yourself in a little more each workout.

6. Get going out of the gate: Pick up a jump rope or hop on the treadmill for a light 5 minute run before you hit the weights. Get the music going and pump yourself up, the first few minutes of a workout can dictate how the rest will go.

7. Sleep: It is hard enough to get a good workout when you are awake, but close to impossible when you are tired. Your body heals itself during sleep and if you don’t get enough, you risk injury and definitely compromising your workouts.

8. Get some new workout clothes: I know I mentioned this before but here it is again. Working out is such a mental game and when you look pro you tend to workout a little more pro.

9. Mentally get there before you get there: It is easy to psyche yourself out before you even get to the gym, if you go there with a plan on what you are going to do and set yourself up by getting your weights and space ready, you won’t waste time in the gym and you will get a better workout.

10. Change your scenery: I have said it before and I will say it again, when you change your surroundings your workouts will improve and your body will get a better work out.

I know changing your lifstyle is not easy, I want to give you as many options as possible to make the transition easier and educate you on getting it right. One of the many things I learned in the marines is that the biggest hurdle in all physical activities is your mind, however your mind is a lot stronger than you think. If you only use one of those tips — it is a mini victory for me.   Happy workouts all!

When I’m traveling on business or pleasure, I always try to include fitness and a well balanced meal on the road.  

A common resolve: find creative ways to exercise, eat right and reduce stress on your trips.   The need for better fitness while traveling has never been greater. Nearly one-half of travelers polled by USA Today felt that they were in worse shape because they lack the time or the means to exercise properly during travel.  I’ve been blessed with careers that allow me to travel, and over the years I’ve picked up tricks that help me stay in shape while traveling, I decided to share them with you, enjoy:  

snorkeling in belize

Whenever I’m on the road, I get creative and I’m determined.  I work hard to stay in shape, whether on the road or at home.
Take my trip to Belize (pics included).  It was a beautiful vacation, and I didn’t want to count my calories, plus food in Belize isn’t the healthiest, so I did every possible outdoor activity there was to keep my metabolism on high speed.   I drank a LOT of water, and when I could, I substituted a fried lunch with something simple, like a fruit salad with cottage cheese, and you can find that anywhere.  So just be CREATIVE and when you get to your destination, check out your surroundings, see what is available and if you’re committed to staying or getting yourself in shape, believe me, you will see the opportunities are all around you.  And you will no longer be making the excuses.

Tim Trost in Ravello

The first time I went to Italy, I remember driving from the French Riviera to a little town called Cinque Teerre, where my friend John Carlo lived. I was a little over the heavy foods in France and ready for a nice light meal. John Carlo introduced me to this dish and for the rest of my stay in Italy I would stop off at every market and get bresaola and burrata. I was on a budget — it was cheap and delicious. On my second visit to Italy I went to a little town called Ravello, this time I wasn’t on a budget so I treated myself to the restaurants this time. Again every time I saw this dish on the menu, I would get it and was never disappointed. The presentation was exquisite with the taste to match! I hope you enjoy it.

Tim Trost in Positano

This one is simple, all you need is a knife, cutting board and a food processor that is it!

What you’ll need:

One half pound of  Bresaola (Go to an italian deli, they should have both Bresaola & Burrata ask them to cut the Besaola thin.)

8 oz of burrata

Olive oil

Balsamic vinaigrette

Arugula

2 heirloom tomatoes

Let's get prepped

Lets get prepped now:

Cut the tomatoes into medium slices long ways and then again into halves. Cut the avocado into half  and then slice long ways. Now the art of it is in the presentation, find your inner artist and design the plate how you want or just look at the pictures and follow my guide.

Homemade pesto

What you ‘ll need:

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  

  Let's cut'em up

• Special equipment needed: A food processor (Check Amazon.com’s sale on Cuisinart food processors.)

Method

1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Makes 1 cup.

This is a great lunch or light dinner. The smells and tastes bring me right back to beautiful Italy, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Enjoy!

hmmm, beautiful & yummy!

Dwight Howard

I want to thank Marco for being our guest author.  And guys…Marco Pelusi pomade is the bomb! Let’s get back to the workouts shall we. From time to time I like to break down my workouts into body parts with some supplemented compound movements to give great shape to those parts. If you watched any of the NBA finals like me, I was amazed by Dwight Howard’s shoulders which is why the first breakdown I wanted to cover is the shoulders. Creativity is what my shoulder workouts are all about, there are so many different movements to stimulate the deltoids. When wearing a tank top who doesn’t love to be complemented on the arms and it all starts with the shoulders, and nice separation between the arms. I am going to give you three different shoulder workouts that you can mix and match and make your own or just follow each to a T, guaranteed to make you feeling them and wanting more. Lets start with one that I like to call “the volumizer”, because it is geared more for adding a little size to those shoulders, then we will go into the shoulder shaper for nice developed shoulders.

Each exercise will be done 3 sets for 8-12 reps, go heavy on these day’s because we do want to pump up those shoulders.

Circuit 1- Barbell shoulder presses behind the neck, , barbell dead lifts, barbell shrugs, upright rows and 30 second jump rope

Circuit 2- Barbell shoulder presses to the front, squats, front delt barbell raises and 30 second jump rope

The shaper

Each exercise will be done for 3 sets and 10 to15 reps

Circuit 1- Arnold presses, Dumbbell to the side lunges, side lateral raises, dumbbell single arm snatches, jump rope for 1 minute

Circuit 2- Dumbbell curl and press, dumbbell straight legged dead lifts, front twist delts, double arm dumbbell snatches,

Circuit 3- The “Gammitt” super 10’s

Variety in those shoulder workouts goes along way, be creative and add some twists to your movements. Never let you’re workouts get boring and you’re body will never stop improving.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWvmtHP1-s0]