MIAMI — When I hear the phrase ‘living the South Florida lifestyle’, I think of a place so beautiful and warm that it is synonymous with living a ‘healthy lifestyle’. Growing up in the mid west it was easy to come to such a conclusion; TV, movies, music and the ‘south beach diet’ all lead me to the realization that if I lived amongst the healthy and fit people, I would become one. However, after moving to Key Biscayne, I found myself driving past all those joggers and bikers every morning on my way to work with Monster energy drink in my cup holder, a greasy Egg McMuffin in hand and a brown bag of Cuban breakfast pastries oozing pink with guava filling riding shotgun.
OK, so maybe there is an adjustment period, a mere couple of months testing the local cuisine before I find the oasis of health that is surely waiting to be discovered.
Pretty soon I too would be biking to work with a body cut from marble, it will just happen, right?
My mistake was thinking that moving would be the changing factor. As if being ‘here’ instead of ‘there’ would be the tipping point and make me healthier by association. However, what I needed was to change my lifestyle. Every morning I would indiscriminately fill my belly with quantity, not quality. Just like a car, your body will perform better if you fill it with higher grade fuels. It is one thing to know this, and another to find those options at the drive-thru, gas station or wherever your daily commute takes you to eat on the go.
According to a study done by Men’s Fitness, Miami has nearly three times the amount of fast food restaurants compared to the average city, despite Miami’s healthy reputation attributed to south Florida. Keep that in mind when you walk out the door hungry, and know that it is not very likely that you will be making a healthy decision when eating on the go. It is not impossible however; all you need is a little help on the run and, much to my surprise, I found that help hiding amongst the rows and rows of sugary energy drinks at my local Walgreens.
Like many people, an essential part of my morning is caffeine. Just based on taste and ingredients alone, I find myself passing on the giant cans of ‘Monster’ and ‘Rockstar’ energy drinks. I was drinking Cuban coffee for awhile, until one day I paid attention to how they were making it. Espresso, a scoop of sugar…another scoop of sugar…a liberal pour of sugar…leaving me to conclude that the tiny thimble of liquid was not something I should be putting in my body first thing in the morning. Finally I saw a drink I had never heard about in the beverage cooler called ‘Celsius’. My first attraction was to the variety of flavors they offered; raspberry acai, wild berry, peach mango, and sparkling orange. I picked up the raspberry acai and went about my routine.
The first difference I noticed was that I did not ‘crash’ like most energy drinks. According to claims on their can and website Celsius can even help you burn calories! Imagine that, a workout trainer in your cup holder…to good to be true? Not if you know what’s in it. The MetaPlus® formula that is inside Celsius provides the boost you need in the morning without all the stuff you don’t want – no sugar, no artificial preservatives, flavors or colors, and no high fructose corn syrup or aspartame. Celsius is loaded with vitamins and good-for-you ingredients, such as Green Tea with EGCG, Ginger, Calcium, Chromium, B vitamins, and vitamin C, all of which work together to raise metabolism resulting in a sustained calorie burn while keeping you energized. Like anything worth having, your health is something you must work towards maintaining. Paired with a healthy diet and exercise, I had found a new way to get closer to that ‘South Florida lifestyle’ I was searching for.
Sometimes all we really need is a first step to get on track to a healthier lifestyle. For me, finding something that I could feel good about using first thing in the morning has led me to make better choices throughout the day. If something that comes in a can is going to invest in my health, I might as well put in the effort on my end. As a company, Celsius encourages an active lifestyle by sponsoring races, sporting events, health expos and overall wellbeing. Their claims have been backed up by six clinical studies conducted by U.S. accredited scientific research facilities according to strict scientific standards. They were awarded the 2009 CSP Retailer Choice Best New Product Award and they continue to grow as a company with a wide variety of flavors and products being produced every year. As a local company, based in Boca Raton, Celsius is helping inspire us to look and feel as beautiful as the place we live in.
Well written