Hello guys,

Hope you’re doing great and you’re feeling the holiday spirit!
Because I grew up in Europe, sometimes I have a hard time feeling the holiday spirit since we don’t have snow here in LA , and the lifestyle is so busy sometimes. Once in a while I have to step back, slow down, and just make it all happen:).
Last week, I had blast filming the second part of my fitness workout series with Taylor.

I was soooo sore the next day , since we shot couple of workouts in one day.
I hope it will come out great and I can have my DVDs very soon for those who are interested, and those who wants to make a difference in their physique, better health, and most importantly, can inspire others to do the same thing.

New years is coming, and if you haven’t made better choices in your lifestyle yet, you now have a chance to make it happen! It’s never to late to start, but when you do start, the secret to  is to stay consistent and be patient. Results will come with time. One day at the time….

I personally put all the movements in the DVD together because I believe they are the most effective movements that made a difference in my physique. I incorporate a lot of these exercises for my competition prep.
If you’re like me, and you have a busy lifestyle, you will probably appreciate that these routines are relatively short,  plus they have a high calorie expenditure and are great for fat burning.

You can do these workouts in comfort of your own home or when traveling (hotel).
Also these workouts will  increase your post exercise metabolism and much more.
You will love your lean body after following this custom program I designed… if you’ll stick with it.

So here are my two cents… Set realistic goals, make new and better choices …stop making the same old choices that are not helping you, and most importantly, surround yourself with positive people that uplift you.

In your health,

Denise

I learned one thing,  if you want something YOU have to do it, no one else will do it for you. Not even the best coach can help if you’re not 100% commited. They will give you tools but the rest it all up you.

This time I choose to do my own make up.
I prefer a more natural look. I think I did a good job.:)
Since I have done so many photoshoots and I always do my own make up, I learned as I went…Natural works better for me.

I really liked my tan color this time as well.
I know….. for people who don’t compete, the fake spray tan will always be over the top, but on the stage with all the lighting, we would disappear… haha
Also, the dark color helps with enhancing the definition of the muscles.
My favorite part of  competing is meeting new people and making new friends.
Connecting with the world… that’s what is it all about anyway, right?!

I’m excited to bring a better package for next competition. I know what I have to work on.
It’s exciting to have goals and go after it, and each day see myself getting closer and closer.

You guys too! Go after your goals!
Step by step - and enjoy the journey. Have a faith and don’t give up… because sometimes you might be closer to reaching your goals then you might think. Patience and staying focused, even if you’re distracted with the challenges of every day life is the key.
It’s nice to have a room for improvement and always grow into a better person, share your happiness with others, and help them on their journey towards what ever goal they might have.
…And if you fail, get up and keep moving forward. That’s how you build strength.
Every day is a new opportunity.  If you didn’t win today it doesn’t mean you won’t win next time!
#faith

Time to enjoy some dessert and a nice steak!:)

Ciaooo
D

2 healthy snacks for busy people

Hello everybody!

First, thank you for all your messages and letting me know that some of you a tried my recipes. I’m here again with 2 great tips. This time I have a couple healthy nutritious snacks.
I focus on all natural foods so you can feed your brain and your body with a lot of nutrients that you need for strength.

Here they are:

1)Tuna/chicken stuffed egg or avocado

• Canned Tuna/ chicken
• Mustard (I use organic, stoneground mustard with no salt added)
• Avocado
• Green onion
• Hard boiled egg whites

Mix the Tuna (or chicken) with finely chopped green onions, smashed avocados, and mustard to taste.

Simply, cut the egg in half, remove the yolk, and add the mixture.

To add more taste you can use lime, cayenne pepper and  cilantro

If you’re hungry and you need carbs, I would suggest this snack with a corn tortilla or brown rice cakes (Lundberg)

2)Brown rice cakes with almond butter and banana

Brown rice cakes
Banana
Almond butter

Add almond butter to the rice cake and add sliced banana on top.

Sprinkle with cinnamon or unsweetened cocoa powder or stevia

Quick and easy.

As you know, it’s important to put  good fuel into your body so you will have a lot of energy to keep up with everything going on in your life. Think smart and strive to make better choices throughout the day…..
Better choices = better health  and  you can create better habits for a better life!

Till next time

D

http://www.deniselifestyle.com/wp-admin/

This weekend I went shopping for accessories to wear for my next competition. I found some great jewelry and some “bling” for my bikini. It is amazing how they can add Swarovski crystals to a bikini to give it more “pop”. Preparing for a competition can be costly. Everything starts adding up quickly! The thing is, when preparing for something that is important to you, you never want to hold back. It’s not that the more money you spend, the better prepared you are, it’s all about confidence. If you know in the back of your mind that you “could have” done something different that would have given you a better chance of success, it will haunt you! =)  We prepare to gain confidence, and confidence is knowing you gave it your all.

(the earings I chose for the competition)

-D

Wow! Taylor competed this past weekend at Olympia! Simply qualifying for this event is a huge achievement. Congrats! We know she worked super hard to get there and she deserves the spotlight.
It would be fun to do a video about her experience at the Olympia. What you guys think?:)
She is such an inspiration as are all those competitors who compete at that level with all the best athletes.

(nice picture Isaac!)
For those who are wondering, my prep for my next competition is going well. Finding the time in my busy schedule to work out and eat right is difficult,
but if you plan ahead and make good choices, anything is possible! I’m really excited for the event and hope to see some familiar faces.

Sometimes in life you feel overwhelmed and have too many things that need to be done. Simply take a step back, see what’s really important, and live in the moment.
No matter how difficult, make choices that move you closer to your goals. Sometimes the easy way might set you farther back than you think.
In your health,

D

We all know that the first thing to do when you want to trim your body is to consume less sugar. That’s why I created this wonderful coco mousse.

Elegant…simple to do, delicious and guilt free.

You are going to need:

1) Greek yogurt
2)Unsweetened cocoa powder
3)Stevia

1/2 scoop of chocolate protein powder (optional)
Little bit of whipped cream on the top (optional) – I use a Rice whipped cream substitute (seen in pic above)

Mix it together and naturally you’ll get a nice perfect texture for mousse. Yumm!

Banana ice cream
The other desert is great for a sunny day. It’s very refreshing.
This sweet treat could also works great as a snack after a good workout.

1)Frozen banana
2)Almond milk or coconut milk (adjust to make texture right)
1/2 scoop of  a vanilla protein shake (optional)
Whip cream (optional)

You need a pretty good blender to make this work. Something like a Vitamix, Blendtec or Ninja.

Again you will get a perfect texture just like ice cream, but use very little of the almond or coconut milk.

Enjoy!

D

There’s nothing like cooking from scratch with natural foods, but sometimes we get very busy and it makes it challenging to stay on the right track. Now I know you can do almost anything  when you put your mind to it!

“What you focus your attention on, grows.”

Being prepared ahead of time will get you closer to your goals.

Thanks to competing, I’ve learned a lot about emergency situations when I’m hungry and had a super busy day. It’s important to have clean and natural foods available all the time.

If you want to succeed with your fitness goals, better health, or if you are a competitor, you most likely have to cook ahead of time to be always prepared and ready because the last thing you want is to grab something that’s not on the healthy clean food menu. That won’t get you closer to your goals.

That’s why I always keep certain foods for convenience in my house.

I just want to give you an idea and share how quickly you can have a meal that is well balanced and delicious so you can stay on track and get those lean muscles:), even when obstacles like hunger arrive . I know when I feel hungry I gotta eat and I gotta eat quick ….hehe…..you hear me right?

Meal number one:

1)Chicken breast tenderloins – I get it from Trader Joe’s in the frozen section

Very handy…… no preservatives, no hormones, no MSG and high in protein.

The individual pieces are so tiny because there are no hormones.

But thats why I like them sooo much …. They are done cooking quick without defrosting it and the chicken doesn’t end up dry.

If you do have a time defrosting would be better because the chicken will be juicier.

I use olive oil spray for my chicken.

As far as spices, I love to use cayenne pepper (it can boost your metabolism).

2)Asparagus-like the chicken, I get from the frozen section at Trader Joes.

It’s nutritious, a natural diuretic, high in antioxidants & fiber

3)Brown rice – I cook it ahead and freeze it or sometimes for convinience, or buy it already pre made. Many stores now  days offer that option.

Brown rice is rich in fiber. It’s a complex carbohydrate that’s very nutritious and great tasting.

Olive oil and lime (I use these two for sprinkling on top of the asparagus and chicken) or I use avocado instead of olive oil.

So here you have a great balanced meal with protein, complex carbohydrates and fat in less than 10 min.

Meal number 2:

White tuna, organic fresh herb salad with brown rice and home made nutritious dressing.

1)White Tuna – Again I buy my tuna in the can from Trade Joes and I like the one with no salt added.

If I want to use salt I prefer Himalayan pink sea salt. It works for me. And I like the taste much more than any other salt.

Also if you are not a fan of tuna, you can use white chicken meat instead, great source of protein.

2)Organic fresh salad nutrient rich, antioxidant, fiber

3)Millet (in this pic) or brown rice works perfect as well. You can also try a

quinoa. Quinoa is rich in protein.

Sometimes I add avocado, but that is optional because you will get your essential fatty-acids from the home made dressing.

Dressing (ingredients in the pic):

• Olive oil – extra virgin
• Lime
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Tiny bit of jalapeño
• Mustard (organic) from whole foods …when I buy mustard, I look out for the sodium
• Honey or Stevia (my preference) when in prep for a competition
• Fresh Basil (I also love to use Cilantro) or you can use both
• Turmeric (spice)

My base for a dressing is usually always:

• Olive oil extra virgin or flaxseed oil
• Lime, lemon or apple cider vinegar
• Organic Mustard from Whole Foods
• Honey or Stevia(when competing)
• Garlic or ginger or both
• Turmeric or cayenne pepper depends how spicy do i want it:)

To get even more veggies, I blend any kind of veggie and I mix it with my base.

So far I’ve tried red,orange and green bell pepper, tomato and leafy greens.

Tip:

Sometimes I also love to add sauteed sweet onions to my salad and toss it with almonds or walnuts.

If you make a little extra dressing, you can store it in the refregiator for next time.

I also freeze it but again, there is nothing like fresh stuff…

Also, don’t forget to think about PORTION CONTROL. What ever it might be, if you are carb lover or in my case I love healthy fats (ex.almond butter,nuts, olive oil, flaxseed oil).  I have make sure to watch my intake of good fats because I tend to use it a lot ….simply because I love it! Too much of even good stuff could be also detrimental for your goals ….. It’s all about balance:)!

This  is when discipline and patience comes in handy. It’s a learning process……one step at the time.

Just for your info, look at the comparison:

Fat: 1 gram = 9 calories

Protein: 1 gram = 4 calories

Carbohydrates: 1 gram = 4 calories

I always say to my clients that the beauty is, we always have a choice. I’m not only talking about clean eating. Im also taking about generally in life ,we always have an option to choose. You can always pause for a second or two to think about it and ask yourself, “is this choice going to get me closer to my goals or not ?” You DO have that option!

Thanks for reading!

Till next time……

D

Ps. Next time i will show you a simple trick how to eat more veggies and 2 one of my fave healthy deserts…super simple to do.

Why drink vegetables?

Benefits:
Alkalizing effect- vegetable can make you blood PH more balanced
Antioxidants
Vitamins, minerals
Enzymes
Anti-aging
Good for your skin & hair
Great energy booster

Recipe:

Celery
Cucumber
Ginger
1 green apple
Sprinkle with  lime

To make the juice more tasty, I use:

Red and orange paprika
Carrot
Green apple (even though I prefer not to mix fruits with vegetables when juicing)

For a flat stomach I use these veggies for their  natural diuretic properties:

Dandelion (they are a little bit bitter so you don’t need too much unless you like bitter greens. Dandelion is also good for your liver)
Asparagus (when competing I use asparagus a bit more in the last couple of days before stepping on stage, a great natural diuretic)

Sometimes I use a little bit of ginger for taste and lemon or lime (my preference).

I always make sure I clean my veggies from chemicals and pesticides.
I use a great product from Trader Joe’s called “fruit and vegetable wash” from Environne

If I’m busy or I haven’t had a chance to go fresh produce shopping, this is what I make from what I keep at home.

Of course there is nothing like  fresh vegetable juice that you can make from fresh produce, but many times we’re looking for convenience and this is why I keep these items at home.

I get everything from health stores or whole foods.
I try a lot of different varieties and I’m always looking for the best products out there, but here is what I have so far..
Sometimes I combine them all together (like half teaspoon) in one drink or use them individually.

• Vitamineral green, cleansing super-foods
• Kyo-green it’s a combination of nutrients from the Land and Sea
• Matcha green tea drink, Alkalizing, energizing, detoxifying and rejuvenating

The important thing is to make drinking veggie juice a daily habit.
At first you might not like the taste of it, but focus on the positive ….how much more energy you’ll feel!

Why not take the time and make an effort to become healthier. It will give you more balance, and make you sexier.. hehe in my opinion, “vitality and energy = sexy”

Next time I will like to show you 2 of my favorite Super Quick and Easy, but nutritious dishes.

Till next time..

In your health,

D

Here’s a few tips I use to speed up my metabolism.

We all know how important it is to drink water.
Water = energy

I always drink plenty of water and when I prep for a competition, I drink a gallon every single day!

Here are a few ways I get creative and playful with my water.

1) Ginger/lemon – anti-inflammatory, to improve digestion
You don’t need a lot of ginger….

2) Green tea Matcha – everybody by now knows about matcha. It is a wonderful  antioxidant that can speed up your metabolism, detoxifier, great substitute for coffee, and great before a workout.

3) Apple / Cinnamon water-  can help with blood sugar and studies show that 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon can lower bad cholesterol.

4) Mint/ lime – sooooooo refreshing, great after a meal to improve digestion
I sometimes add a strawberry for aroma and looks.

You can add a stevia for the sweetness if you desire.

Next time I want to show you my 2 (beauty/ heath) green drinks.
Stay tuned…..

In your health,

D