Hi friends! Happy Friday! How was the week? I hope you had a wonderful one. The kids officially have one week left of school (YESSSSSSS) and we’re all counting down the days. This weekend we have dinner with friends, a concert, dance activities, and all the chores. I hope you have a lovely weekend, too!

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party! Here’s this week’s roundup, and I always love to hear about your faves, too if you’d please shout out something you’re loving below.

5.17 Friday Faves

Life:

Mother’s Day advetnures. It was the best day with my favorite people, doing so many of my favorite things. I woke up early, and while everyone was still sleeping, I went to the farmer’s market to stroll around and get some meat for Maisey’s dog food. When I got home, I got to open amaizng cards from the family, and then we set off for brunch at Hacienda del Sol.

Hacienda has become one of our favorite special occasion brunch spots (we also love date night on the patio with the live piano music), and they have a legendary spread. They truly go for quality over quantity with the best prime rib, veggies, charcueterie, pasta, omelet station, a huge seafood spread, desserts for days, multiple mimosa flavors and a full bar, and live Spanish guitar. Some friends who are like family joined us, and it was the perfect morning.

(so many gf desserts!)

After brunch, we did the tour de Tucson, dropping off flowers and cards for my mom, nana, stepmom, and other nana 🙂 We came home, where I rode the spin bike and then took a glorious little nap. We met up with friends at the pool at Ventana for pizza, swimming, and margaritas.

I also had some excited news to share with you guys: earlier this week, EquiLife and IHP announced that I was chosen as one of their five IHP champions for the year.

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Lots of tips here on metabolic flexibility and how to improve it. 

Hi hi! How’s your day going? I hope you’re having a wonderful day so far. I have quite a few things on my to-do list for the day — all good things, of course!

For today’s post, I wanted to talk a bit about something I started paying more attention to over the past couple of years: metabolic flexibility. As I learn more biohacking tips and strategies to improve my health, I’m excited to share more of this info here. This post was written in collaboration with Mia, our Fitnessista RD. If you have any questions for her or topics you’d like us to cover, please let me know!

Now, let’s get into it!

How Do You Know If You Are Metabolically Flexible

What is metabolic flexibility?

Metabolic flexibility is the body’s ability to switch between fuel sources, whether it is energy received from fat or energy from carbohydrate consumption. Do you notice that you feel better when you eat a steak vs a pizza?

Why Is Metabolic Flexibility Important

Being metabolically flexible allows the body to easily switch between glucose and fatty acid catabolism. Catabolism is essentially the process of breaking down the food you just ate and using it for fuel, or if it’s been hours or even a day since your last meal, it lets your body dip into fat stores for fuel.  A flexible metabolism allows this to happen with ease while feeling great and is an indicator of mitochondrial function.

How do you know if you have a flexible metabolism?

Here are some indicators that your metabolism is functioning at an optimal level:

– You can go hours without eating and without becoming “hangry.”

– Your meal frequency doesn’t dictate your mood.

– Your energy levels are great when eating a diet rich in protein and healthy fats.

– You feel great when eating a diet rich in protein and carbohydrates.

– There’s no need for you to eat every 2-3 hours to prevent fatigue, headaches, or hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels).

– You haven’t coined yourself as someone who follows a specific “diet”.

How I measure my own metabolic flexibility:

I use two things to see how my metabolism is functioning and how my body responds to different foods and eating patterns. The first one is the Lumen, which will actually tell you whether you’re predominantly burning carbs or fat, based on your RER (respiratory exchange ratio). I use Lumen a few times throughout the day, and tweak my nutrition based off its suggestions. (If you decide to try it use FITNESSISTA for an extra $35 off!)

It’s also been insightful to see how certain workouts and foods (especially late-night meals) affect my metabolic function.

Hi friends!

I’m so excited about today’s episode because I’m chatting with Dr. Avanti Singh all about Ayurveda and how you can use this ancient wisdom to boost you immune system and help with allergies/

Here’s what we talk about:

– How to find your dosha and what it means

– Ayurvedic strategies for this time of year

– Morning routines and daily habits

– And so much more

160: Ayurveda for Allergies and Immune System Function with Dr. Avanti Kumar-Singh, MD

Avanti Kumar-Singh, is an Ayurveda Wellness Expert on a mission to show how Ayurveda is a health catalyst to achieve optimal wellness in modern life.

After receiving her Bachelor’s in Art History from the University of Chicago, she went on to receive her medical degree from Rush University Medical College. While working as an ER physician, she experienced first-hand the limitations of Western medicine. To learn more, Kumar-Singh began a 10-year wellness journey during which she studied energy healing and yoga therapy and became a practitioner of the 5,000-year-old ancient healing tradition known as Ayurveda.

Over the two decades of her training, study, and research, Kumar-Singh has shared her expertise with Fortune 500 companies, at elite undergraduate and graduate institutions, and at prestigious industry and medical conferences. She has been featured in the Huffington Post, goop, Thrive Global and mindbodygreen and served as the co-lead facilitator of the Faculty Scholars Program in Integrative Healthcare at the OSHER Center for Integrative Medicine at Northwestern Medicine.

She is also the author of The Health Catalyst and the host The Health Catalyst Podcast. If you’d like to receive new episodes as they’re published, please subscribe to The Healing Catalyst in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts,

Sharing a roundup of some the things I’m loving from Amazon for summer! Affiliate links are included below, which don’t impact purchase price, but enable me to earn a very small commission. Thank you so so much to those of you who shop through my links!

Summer is almost heeeeeeere. Thank the LORD lol. The kids have a week of school left, and I’m so ready for summer travels, slow mornings, evenings swimming, time with friends, and no homework. (Math used to be my strong suit but they changed the program this past year and now it hurts my brain.)

I thought I’d share a roundup of fave things for Summer! Please share some of your top picks in the comments section, too.

Amazon Summer Faves for 2024

Swim and beach:

The best hat! You can wear it with a bun and it rolls up to easily store in your suitcase.

The best beach and pool bag.

Our top sunscreen picks now that BC is gone: this spray, this spray, and this for face.

This shade tent. We used this for years when we lived in San Diego!

A fun beach game to pop in your suitcase.

These are a huge hit with kids.

Cute sunnies that are less than $20

Women’s swimsuits:

A one-piece with a ruffled neckline.

High-waist sporty set.

This one-piece comes in a ton of colors and has amazing reviews.

This high-waist two-piece with a flattering top.

One of my all-time fave classic coverups.

This crochet coverup is so pretty.

For the kiddos:

I get the kids Maaji suits every year. They’re reversable and last all summer.

These boy’s swim trunks have a ton of prints and look like decent quality for the price.

The girls LOVED this unicorn sprinkler when they were a little younger (though let’s be real, if I got another one, they’d totally play in it.)

A little bit of a hazard, but SO much fun.

Cloud slides for the beach and pool.

Waterproof Birks for summer.

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Sharing a review of the Somavedic device, how it works, and how we’re liking it so far. If you want to get your own, use this link and the code FITNESSISTA for 10% off. 

Hi friends! How’s the morning gong? I hope you had an amazing weekend. We celebrated Mother’s Day, and also had a lovely dinner with friends.

For today’s post, I wanted to share a review of something we’ve been using for the past few weeks: The Somavedic. TBH, I’d been eyeing one for years (I know that Dr. Cabral also uses one and I always like his recommendations), so I was so pumped when they offered to gift me one. It’s absolutely gorgeous and I’ve noticed a difference since we started using it.

I’m going to share a full review in today’s blog post, and if you’re interested in trying it, you can check it ouf here and use the code FITNESSISTA for 10% off.

Somavedic review + does it actually do anything?

In recent years, the Somavedic device has gained popularity in the realm of holistic wellness. But what exactly is Somavedic, and does it live up to the hype?

Today, I wanted to chat about what Somavedic is, how it works, and share some pros and cons now that we’ve been using it for a while.

What is Somavedic?

Somavedic is a device that emits subtle energy frequencies intended to harmonize the environment and counteract the harmful effects of electromagnetic radiation (EMFs), geopathic stress, and other environmental pollutants.

The device is designed to create a coherent field that supports the body’s natural ability to maintain balance and vitality. Every device is handmade and touched by 10 different people in the process. When I opened the box, I was surprised by how gorgeous it is.

How Does Somavedic Work?

Somavedic utilizes a combination of ancient knowledge and modern technology to achieve its effects. At its core, the device contains a mix of minerals, precious stones, and other natu