Continuing on with our inspirational
interview series, I had the opportunity to interview one of Hollywood’s most sought after nutritionists,
Cynthia Pasquella, to ask her about how she brings health, fitness, and FUN into her daily life and into her clients’ lives.
I really enjoy Cynthia’s perspective that health and wellness is not a quick fix, and it is quite literally a shift in the way you
think and feel about yourself.
Cynthia is a Certified Clinical Nutritionist (CCN), Certified Wellness Coach (CWC), Certified Holistic Life Coach (CHLC), and she specializes in detoxification. She uses her extensive training to help empower her clients to not only feel better physically, but mentally as well.
Her message is very much based on her own life lessons, and I think you will really like what she has to share about her journey to health and wellness, realizing that putting oneself first and feeling good on the inside is just as important as looking good on the outside.
LIVE WELL 360: Hi Cynthia! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today. I would love for you to start by filling us in on your story/background and on what brought you to the level of health and fitness that you maintain today.
Cynthia: Thanks so much for having me guys! My own personal story actually plays a huge role in why I do what I do.
Not only did I suffer from increasing weight gain, I had horrible acne, I was exhausted all the time, I had cellulite in places you never want to have cellulite, and I ended up developing cysts in both of my breasts. In a nutshell, I was a mess!
I tried everything to lose the weight – diets, pills, fasting, you name it. I was finally referred to a nutritionist who suggested a cleanse that would nourish and help heal my body. Once I implemented the holistic program she suggested, the weight literally fell off, my skin cleared up, I had tons of energy, and I felt so good about myself. It had been so long since I had that feeling!
After that experience, I knew I had to dedicate my life to helping other women who suffer from these same sorts of things and show them there is a better way.
LIVE WELL 360: Wow, I think there are many people that can relate to that kind of a roller coaster with health and weight issues, in one way or another. So what does your typical day look like now related to food and fitness?
Cynthia: I don’t know that I have a typical day. For me, it’s essential to mix things up. One, because I get bored easily; and two, because it’s important to switch up the foods you’re eating and the workouts you’re doing so your body is properly nourished.
One thing I am consistent with is starting every day with a meditation and then moving on to having warm water with freshly squeezed organic lemon to gently cleanse my body and jumpstart my day. I get more energy from this drink than coffee and it’s much healthier!
LIVE WELL 360: At Live Well 360 we believe
fitness should be fun. Will you share 3 ways you bring fun into
your fitness?
Cynthia: Oh my goodness, I couldn’t agree more! Here are 3 ways I bring fun into my fitness:
- Always mix it up. If I’m doing the same workout over and over, I get bored and it’s no longer fun. I also experiment with new workouts. I’ve tried Piloxing, urban hula hooping, and even the Power Plate. The one thing I haven’t done (yet) – naked yoga!
- I’m not too strict on myself. If I start a workout and I’m just not feeling it, I change it up. There have been days I start a nice weight routine and end up dancing for half an hour! I’ve found that you just have to listen to your body and go where it takes you.
- I workout with a friend. We get to catch up and we push each other harder than we would if we were on our own. This creates a fun, competitive spirit and we end up having a great time together while really getting an amazing workout!
LIVE WELL 360: Naked yoga –
that would be the true test in concentration! Haha! On your website, you recommend detoxification. In your opinion, when do we need to detox our bodies and what are the benefits?
Cynthia: I do think that almost every single one of us needs to detoxify our bodies, our minds, and our lives. With the foods we eat, the lifestyles we live, the pollution, and chemicals from our personal care products, I haven’t seen a client yet who didn’t benefit from a healthy cleanse.
I don’t, however, recommend fasting, juice detoxes, or products containing laxatives. They do give your digestive system a bit of a break but in order to properly cleanse, you have to incorporate some form of fiber. Fiber is what binds to toxins and then gently escorts them out of your body. Without fiber, the toxins stay where they are.
In addition, you need more nutrients while cleansing, not less, so it’s essential that you are taking in not only fiber but also vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and essential fatty acids.
After my own health struggle, I designed an entire product line with the essentials you need to effectively detox your body, mind, and life – inside and out. It cleanses by nourishing your body, not depriving it. The line is called
SoCal Cleanse and it’s the first and only USDA certified organic cleanse in the world. I always start my one-on-one clients out on this program and the results we see – just with the cleanse alone – are truly amazing!
LIVE WELL 360: You also mention detoxification of the mind as well. How does one begin this type of process?
Cynthia: Detoxification of the mind is as important as detoxification of the body. We must change our thoughts if want we to change our lives. You can’t have one without the other. In my private practice we work on both synergistically. We get to the bigger “whys”. For example, why is it that you know what you should be eating but you can’t make yourself do it to save your life? By digging deep and releasing old thoughts and feelings that have kept us
powerless for so long, we are able to do or have anything we put our minds to – including a healthy, fit body.
LIVE WELL 360: So would this detoxification of the body and mind be the first thing that you recommend to your clients who are living a fast-paced life, and want to optimize their health and lose fat? What are a few other steps that you would recommend to them?
Cynthia: When I work with clients one-on-one, the first step is always a cleansing program. Then, we do a series of testing to determine what nutrients they might be deficient in, what food sensitivities they might have, whether their hormones are in balance, if their adrenals are exhausted, whether their thyroid is functioning properly, and much, much more. With this information, we fully customize a healthy approach to getting them to their goals. There is no one size fits all program. We’re dealing with actual science here, not just guesswork so we know exactly what to do in order to get the results we want – fast!
Some other things I incorporate are
finding a fitness program that suits their abilities, personalities, and current health. For example, if someone is suffering from adrenal fatigue or exhaustion, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to stick them on a treadmill for an hour. We’re defeating the purpose! They end up putting even more stress on their adrenals, which causes the body to produce more cortisol, which is directly linked to abdominal fat. And this is just one simplified example.
We also look at managing their stress, detoxifying their mind, incorporating a spiritual aspect, and of course customizing meal plans that they enjoy and that provide the necessary nutrients they need to lose weight, boost their energy, and regain their confidence!
LIVE WELL 360: That is definitely the benefit of working one-on-one with a coach — the customization! So, switching gears a little, if you were to name one person, who is your greatest inspiration when it comes to health and fitness, who would it be and why?
Cynthia: There’s not really one person who stands out in terms of health and fitness. As a group, people who are physically challenged in some way but overcome the odds to make health and fitness a part of their everyday lives, are very inspirational to me.
I remember this one time I was running in a canyon in Los Angeles and a man with an artificial leg and arm ran past me like I was standing still! There’s also a man at my gym who lost the use of his legs in a car accident a couple of years ago but he’s at the gym before I get there and is still there when I leave –
that’s inspiration!
LIVE WELL 360: I feel the same way. There is a man at my gym, who I’m guessing to be around 80 years old, who regularly does sets of up-side-down pull-ups. Amazing!
In closing, what would you say is the biggest lesson you have learned up to this point about health and fitness?
Cynthia: The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that calories in versus calories out do not equal weight loss. This theory doesn’t even begin to take into account the complex biochemistry of our bodies and the thousands of processes that are happening at any given time. Simply put, our bodies are not calculators.
LIVE WELL 360: Not a calculator. Interesting. I’ve never heard it explained that way. Thank you Cynthia!
For more info on Cynthia, visit her website
http://www.cynthiapasquella.com.
Also, Cynthia has offered the following:
If you want to get FREE tips and insider secrets on how to lose those stubborn pounds (yes there’s a healthy EASY way to get them off!), boost your energy (3pm slump anyone?), and finally regain your confidence (hello skinny jeans!) by downloading your free toolkit at http://www.cynthiapasquella.com/health-happiness-toolkit/.
