Sugar

By melanieavalon / October 18, 2014

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Now that we’ve got fat out of the way, it’s sugars turn! Unlike fat, sugar is nasty stuff, promoting inflammation, oxidative stress, glycation, free radicals, and the “bad” type of cholesterol. Sugar is also strongly correlated to many forms of cancer. Perhaps most significantly, sugar instigates an insulin response, encouraging fat storage, obesity, and diabetes. While […]

Fat

Paleo

By melanieavalon / October 11, 2014

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Fat is confusing stuff. We hate it on our body, yet love it in our mouth. In general we don’t think it’s healthy, but now we’re not so sure? We’re told some kinds of fat are “super foods” which save you from every ill known to mankind, while others kill you. (Don’t even THINK about […]

Calories

By melanieavalon / October 1, 2014

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Before I cleaned up my diet, I viewed cardio and calories like a quota. But now I have this crazy idea in my head that maybe just living life can be more effective than such madness, if you set things up correctly. These days I’m in much better shape, with no gym in sight! Instead, I […]

Personal

By melanieavalon / September 28, 2014

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Note: Due to the very concept of a colonoscopy, the following post contains subject material of a potentially TMI nature (at least for my typical sensibilities). I’m writing it because it concerns digestive health, and also because I had feverishly googled the process before undergoing it, looking for personal survival tales to calm my nerves. (And found […]

Acting

Personal

By melanieavalon / September 12, 2014

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Ok, time for my first acting-related post. Why 17? I just like the number 17.   1. You are not surprised by ANYTHING anyone asks you to do. (Oh you want me to act possessed? No worries. Oh you want me to have an imaginary conversation? Sure thing. Oh, you want me to die? Got […]

Fat

History

By melanieavalon / September 2, 2014

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How often do I find myself at a restaurant, debating between the prime rib and filet mignon, when my salivations are interrupted by a friend’s lament: “Oh I want the steak but I’ll be good and get the low fat veggie pasta.” Back in my SAD aka: Standard American Diet days, I’d eye my companion with a sort of envy, begrudging […]

Alcohol

Calories

Intermittent Fasting

By melanieavalon / August 21, 2014

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Is a calorie just a calorie? Depends. Is an apple just an orange? Here are a few fun studies that show “calories in vs. calories out” may not be the whole story when it comes to weight loss or weight gain. I’ll let them speak for themselves. Adding Calories Via Protein A recent 2014 study found […]

Fat Burning

Weight Loss

By melanieavalon / August 15, 2014

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  There is a marked difference between how men and and women store and use fat, which *coincidentally* explains the very obvious differences between the “male” and “female” body shape. It all goes back to one simple concept: babies. Ya see…females have to maintain a substantial amount of nutritional energy stores just in case they […]

Exercise

Intermittent Fasting

Weight Loss

By melanieavalon / August 11, 2014

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So what happens if you add exercise to the whole intermittent fasting scenario? While people quickly assume exercising on an empty stomach will hinder performance and speed up exhaustion, studies consistently show quite the opposite. IF + EXERCISE = ENDURANCE  When I think of my pre-fasting days, I think of daytime lethargy and equating an hour long workout […]

Paleo

By melanieavalon / August 10, 2014

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Changing habits is hard. Especially when those habits involve food. And the super palatable, refined, processed foods we eat today function psychology like an addiction, so that surely doesn’t help matters. But while going Paleo may be an uphill journey, it will be worth it. I wouldn’t be so enthusiastic about Paleo if it hadn’t literally changed my life. (I didn’t […]