If you’ve had too much merrymaking during the holidays and would like to unload some of the after effects of lots of feasting, here are some ways to do that safely. Holistic nutritionist JJ Virgin recommends you do this when you’re feeling ready to give your goals that extra push and accelerate fat loss. It’ll also help give you that reboot you need at the beginning of the year.

1. Double Up on Loaded Smoothies
Eating by the plate, sans the plate? With a loaded smoothie, you get the magic trifecta in a fast, portable meal replacement. I want you to break your overnight fast with a loaded smoothie by 9 or 10 a.m. But to really increase your fat-burning results, have a second loaded smoothie in place of lunch or dinner. If you really want to go that extra mile, eliminate fruit in loaded smoothies (except for lemon and lime). This minimizes fructose intake to really accelerate fat loss.

2. Swap (or Minimize) Starchy Carbs With Non-Starchy Veggies
Eating by the plate...

When it comes to losing weight and creating better health, what you eat matters. So, too, does when you eat.

We’ve talked about how meal timing can impact weight loss. But another critical piece of weight loss that sometimes gets overlooked is mindset.

By mindset, we’re focusing on your mental attitude about health, being aware of your eating habits, and paying attention to bad habits that can sabotage your health goals.

With these 7 simple and effective strategies from Nutrition and Fitness Expert JJ Virgin, you can retrain your brain to develop a healthy mental mindset and find your healthy weight.

Even if you currently go on autopilot when you’re eating, you can retrain your brain to cultivate healthy habits and be present during meals and other activities throughout your day.

As a nice “bonus,” being mindful can help you lose weight. In one review, researchers discovered significant weight loss in 13 of 19 studies among participants who practiced...

At RISE we focus on small steps that add up to significant results…

...and we’ve found integrating these five foundational tips into your daily routine promises to improve your health, shed unwanted weight and rev up a sluggish metabolism.

#1 Eat a Diet Rich in High-Quality Protein
A diet rich in high-quality protein is a proven way to reduce your cravings and burn extra fat. In fact, research indicates a diet high in quality protein is associated with a lower percentage of belly fat, leading to increased muscle mass and a higher metabolic rate. 

RISE healthy proteins include chicken, turkey, beef, bison, lamb, eggs, wild- caught fish (check out www.seafood.org) and plant-based proteins like lentils, quinoa, tofu, and tempeh. 

#2 Increase Your Intake of Healthy Fats
You may be thinking this seems counterintuitive. However, increasing your intake of healthy fats keeps you fuller for longer periods of time and helps prevent weight gain.

Enjoy a variety of...

We all want strategies of how to keep our hunger at bay, maximize our metabolism and to be fully satisfied in the process. And thankfully it doesn't mean maintaining willpower of steel or depriving yourself. With these seven strategies from Nutrition and Fitness Expert JJ Virgin, you have everything you need to get the results you desire.

“Manufacturers have conditioned us to believe that even the slightest degree of hunger means we should run to eat something. As a result, we habitually reach for something at the slightest whim—usually a high sugar impact snack.

It isn’t just big food corporations that are promoting that graze-all-day mentality. Some people in the nutrition and fitness world still promote this myth that we should be grazing from the moment we wake up till when we doze off.

Trust me, you shouldn't be. If you eat a meal and feel the need to snack a few hours later, I encourage you to look carefully at what you’re eating. When you’re...

Want to lose weight and increase your effectiveness at burning fat? Start with these super effective strategies that support gut health from Nutrition and Fitness Expert JJ Virgin. We love how practical they are and that you can easily integrate them into your lifestyle…

When it comes to the causes of weight gain, you know the usual suspects. Poor diet, not exercising, and being stressed out — these are all common reasons for watching the scale go up. But did you know poor digestion could be a major contributor to weight gain too? A healthy gut is critical for fat loss.

Underlying weight loss and gut health are the trillions of bacteria that find a home in your gut. You have over 500 species of different bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract. In fact, you have more bacteria than you have cells! Most of that bacteria is good for you; it helps you break down food, absorb nutrients, and keep your immune system primed.

Some of that bacteria are the kind that attacks...

We are all looking for ways to optimize our health and this week we thought we’d focus on a simple way to elevate our health with very little effort.

Intermittent Fasting has become a key part of all of our programs at RISE. We have found it to be an amazing tool to supercharge your health and metabolism.

Check out some key benefits of IF from leading Functional Medicine Expert Dr. Will Cole.

“If you haven’t tried fasting before, you don’t have to worry about being hungry and you can ease into a fasting practice and find what works for you. Here are the top reasons why you should try intermittent fasting if you need a simple way to boost your health...

1. Intermittent fasting keeps snacking at bay 

Snacking can easily throw us off track with reaching our wellness goals. Unless you plan out your snacks well, there is the chance you’ll give in to temptation when presented...

Spring is one of our favorite seasons with all the signs of new life, energy and growth. It’s the perfect time for a spring detox to revitalize, refresh and renew. Practiced by cultures around the world, incorporating a detox into your self-care routine is all about resting, cleansing and nourishing your body from the inside out.

By removing and eliminating toxins, while feeding your body with healthy nutrients, a detox is the quickest way to feel better, invigorate your health and supercharge your weight loss.

Three times a year we offer a time to come together and revitalize our health with a 21-day guided detox. If you’ve been considering trying one but aren’t sure, check out just a few of the benefits you’ll enjoy...

1. Weight Loss and Improved Metabolism
There are many reasons to do a detox besides losing weight. But if weight loss is one of your goals, a detox diet can be a great way to jumpstart your progress.

2. Increased Energy
An energy boost is...

Do you find yourself suffering with joint and muscle pain, always being tired, have gut issues like cramping, bloating or putting on weight or carrying extra weight? Then, you might be experiencing a vicious cycle of weight gain and inflammation. We learn from Dr. Cole’s article, the relationship with inflammation and weight gain is complicated causing bacteria in our gut to have a powerful ability to increase or decrease cravings.

“We used to think that maintaining a healthy weight was a simple equation. If you needed to lose weight, you were told to simply “eat less and exercise more.” These days, however, we know that it’s way more complicated than that. In fact, there are almost endless factors affecting our ability to lose weight, including underlying health conditions, food allergies, chronic stress, and gut microbiome issues—just to name a few. And all these barriers to weight loss have one thing in common: they produce chronic inflammation...

Recently, we had the great joy of meeting with our dear friend, world renowned health expert and best selling author, Dr. Wiliam Sears as he shared some of his timely “Weight Loss  wisdom” from his incredible book, “The Dr. Sears T-5 Wellness Plan: Transform Your Mind and Body” for a New You in 2022!  We hope you enjoy Dr. Bill’s common sense approach as much as we did! Take it away Dr. Bill!   

“I owe the past 20 years as a cancer survivor mostly to learning that sugar is a growth food for cancer cells. The standard American diet, high in added sugars, is basically chemical fertilizers for tumor growth. This one simple change—eliminating added sugars from my diet—not only helped me survive and heal from cancer, but it helps every other system in my body thrive.

The good news is, we’ll soon know exactly how much added sugar is in most of our foods, as you'll see a new line for added sugar on food labels...

People decide to detox for all kinds of different reasons. Practiced by cultures around the world, incorporating a detox into your self-care routine is all about resting, cleansing and nourishing your body from the inside out. 

By removing and eliminating toxins, while feeding your body with healthy nutrients, a detox is the quickest way to feel better, revitalize your health and supercharge your weight loss.

Three times a year we offer a time to come together and revitalize our health with a 10-day detox. If you’ve been considering trying one but aren’t sure, check out just a few of the benefits you’ll enjoy... 

1. Weight Loss and Management

There are many reasons to do a detox besides losing weight. But if weight loss is one of your goals, a detox diet can be a great way to jumpstart your progress.

2. More Energy

An energy boost is one of the first benefits of detoxing you’ll notice. Detoxing takes away foods that cause energy crashes, leaving you...