The Fitnessista

where we ate in Tokyo (and gluten-free picks!)

Fitnessista — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 10:11:43 +0000

Sharing some of the best things we ate in Tokyo and some gluten-free picks!

Hi friends! How are you? I hope you had a wonderful weekend and hope that my US friends had a lovely 4th of July. We went to Mt. Lemmon with friends and it was perfection.

Before I head into today’s post, I wanted to share some amazing 4th of July deals that are still happening if you’re in the shopping mood. (TBR I’m always in the shopping mood)

Organifi- Hair Launch: Buy 3, Save 30% + 20% off with code FITNESSISTA here! I love their Gold, Green, Red, Shilajit gummies, and lately I’m obsessed with their hydrogen water tablets. Check it all out here.

EquiLife– up to 30% off sitewide, get a new tote on all orders over $149, and enjoy 25% off community favorites

My top choices:

Omega 3

Full-spectrum magnesium

Lumebox– 45% off through tonight! If you don’t have one yet, I LOVE ours and use it every single day. The kids use it, too. Here’s the link.

Oliveda – huge sitewide discounts and a free F59 (my FAVE!) on orders. Check everything out here! I use the Olive Peeling, F59, Corrective Face Cream, Mint Shower Gel, and Olive Rose Skin Tint.

Farm Rio!!! 4th of July sale ends toniiiiight. Extra 50% off sale styles with code SALE50. I LOVE this dress.

Real talk

TBH it’s been a bit hard for me to blog lately. The nutshell version is that the blog landscape has been extra rough… I’ll share more in an upcoming post. For now, I’m trying to just enjoy a 90s summer with the girls (swimming, roller skating, time with friends, going to the mall) and reminiscing on our AMAZING trip to Japan and Korea.

We ate SO much delicious food that I still think about daily, and I wanted to share some of the highlights in today’s post

where we ate in Tokyo (and gluten-free picks!)

7-11

We had 7-11 every single day.

It’s funny because the 7-11 in the US leaves…much to be desired… but the 7-11s in Japan are packed with amazing food, desserts, snacks and drinks. Sushi, onigiri, pasta, fried chicken, sandwiches, smoothies, it was all incredible. Of course, I enjoyed the viral drinks (the C1000 is the best), multiple tuna onigiri, and everything muscat flavored.

(if you go, find these!! And send me some please lol)

We fell in love with muscat and of course we stocked up on all of the frozen muscat treats, gummies, and mints.

We all had so many onigiri Tuna and mayo was the best!

Tsujiki fish market

The fish market is lined with hundreds of food stands and street vendors. The sashimi is the best I’ve had in my entire life. We also had a container of muscat grapes (so sweet and crunchy) and I also saw people walking around with skewers, crab legs, omelets, caramelized sweet potatoes, and sushi rolls.

We also stumbled upon a hidden gem that had fluffly gluten-free soufle pancakes.

They were sweet and light, and somehow not egg-y at all. We wanted to go back but we didn’t end up having time.

Omakase meal at Gluten-free Kushiage Sû

This meal was a top five culinary experience for me. I went to book a table in advance when I was looking for gluten-free dinner options, but it was booked out. I sent a message on IG asking to be considered if they had any last-minute cancelations, and they reached out the day before to let us know that spots had become available!

There were only seven seats in the restaurant, and everything was made fresh in house by chef Sû.

I started with a crisp and sweet glass of sparkling sake.

Everything is gluten-free and the kushiage consists of skewers. It’s a popular Japanese dish and everything is coated in Panko breadcrumbs and fried. Each flavor profile was completely different, using various meats, veggies, fish, and seasonal ingredients. This felt like an extra special treat for P and me, because usually we’re not able to eat fried or crispy things because… gluten.

Even though the skewers were fried, they were light, cripspy, not the least bit greasy, and incredibly flavorful.

Some of the highlights:

This braised beef tendon inside deep-fried tofu in dashi broth

Mackerel marinated in plum vinegar and sabayon sauce

Gluten-free crab cream croquet

The meal finished off with homemade apple ginger warabi mochi

Chef Sû is truly an artist and so incredibly talented. He does not speak English, but we used google translate with no probs at all. I highly highly recommend this experience if you’re going to Tokyo and have gluten-free friends or family members.

Ginza Senryo

We went for late-night sushi one evening and shared platters of rolls, sashimi, salad, pickled veggie, and best potato salad I’ve had in my life. I had another sparkling sake just to try the different options, you know? It’s worth mentioning here that all of the restaurant servers we encountered were so lovely; the service was above and beyond, but especially at this restaurant. The server was crouched down talking to the girls and was so sweet and friendly.

So tell me friend: what are some of your all-time favorite vacation meals?

My other top meals are:

– Alinea in Chicago

– The beach club in Mykonos

– Zucchini pasta in Sorrento

– Al pastor taco in Mexico with a Mexican coke

Gina

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208: What Mold Is Really Doing to Your Health and How to Find It with Brian Karr

Fitnessista — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 16:05:55 +0000

Hi friends!

I have a brand new podcast episode live, and today we are talking all about mold and how it can silently be affecting your health.

I’m sitting down with Brian Karr, second generation indoor environmental consultant and co-founder of We Inspect and The Dust Test. Brian has helped thousands of people create healthier living environments and has become a go-to expert for medical professionals nationwide on mold and biotoxin issues.

If you’ve ever wondered whether your home could be affecting your health, or if you’ve been dealing with mystery symptoms that nobody can explain, then check out what we chat about:

Why mold is not a new problem, but why we are only now starting to connect the dots between it and so many chronic health conditions
The surprising reason why dried out mold colonies can actually be more dangerous than wet ones
Why new builds are not automatically safe and the three ways mold can get into a brand new home before you even move in
Why you do not have to gut your entire house, and how having the right data makes the process far less overwhelming and expensive
The most common spots in your home where mold is hiding that you are probably not checking
Why those little mold testing pucks from the store can give you both false positives and false negatives and what to do instead
What The Dust Test is, how it works, and why it gives you a much more accurate picture of what is happening in your home
How The Dust Test can actually cross-reference mold in your home with mycotoxins found in your body
The free Mold Exposure Score tool Brian created and how to use it as your starting point

And so much more!!

It was so great getting to talk with Brian and I hope you love this episode!

Brian Karr, a second-generation indoor environmental consultant, specializes in assisting hypersensitive individuals with complex medical conditions by identifying and addressing mold, mycotoxins, and other indoor pathogens in their homes, leading to significant improvements in their health. As the co-founder of We Inspect and The Dust Test, Brian has become a recognized authority on indoor environmental mold and biotoxin issues for medical professionals nationwide, having assisted over 10,000 hypersensitive individuals in creating healthier living environments. Beyond his consulting role, Brian is dedicated to education within the environmental and health industries and among consumers. He accomplishes this through speaking engagements at international health conferences and industry training symposiums. Additionally, Brian democratizes knowledge through his popular podcast, #moldfinders: RADIO, and comprehensive training programs that empower both consumers and health practitioners to properly navigate mold and biotoxin issues.

Check out their website here and book a free consultation call here.

Partners:

Shop Oliveda here.

Check out We Feed Raw! Maisey goes crazy for this! I use it as a topper for her kibble or mix it into her pup loaf. You can try the raw version, the raw dehydrated kibble, and they’ll help you customize a plan for your pup. Use FITNESSISTA40 for 40% off your Meal Plan Starter Box here!

Check out my new favorite red light device here, and use the code FITNESSISTA for a huge discount.

I’ve been using Nutrisense on and off for a couple of years now. I love being able to see how my blood sugar responds to my diet and habits, and run experiments. You can try out Nutrisense here and use GINA30 for 30% off.

If any of my fellow health professional friends are looking for another way to help their clients, I highly recommend IHP. You can also use this information to heal yourself and then go one to heal others, which I think is a beautiful mission. You can absolutely join if you don’t currently work in the health or fitness industry; many IHPs don’t begin on this path. They’re friends who are passionate to learn more about health and wellness, and want to share this information with those they love. You can do this as a passion, or start an entirely new career.

You can use my referral link here and the code FITNESSISTA for up to $250 off the Integrative Health Practitioner program. I highly recommend it!

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6.26 Friday Faves

Fitnessista — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 10:25:45 +0000

Hiiii! Happy Friday! What’s going on this weekend? P has double soccer games and double basketball game, Liv and I are seeing a musical and grabbing lunch with friends, and looking forward to some pool time at home.

No concept of personal space:

P and I spent one whole day swimming this week and it was everything. We learned that Lola loves to be pushed around the pool on the raft,

we ate gluten-free Cheeze-Its and popsicles, blasted 90s country music, played fetch with Maisey, tons of water games (one ridiculous one where she dunks me if I don’t know which color she has in her mind), and floated on pool loungers. The liiiiiiiife.

I hope you’re having the best summer, too!

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves roundup! This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love hearing about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

6.26 Friday Faves

Fashion, beauty, random:

Date night with the Pilot. He was gone a ton the past two weeks, so I was excited that we could sneak away one evening for dinner and cocktails at Flying V.

We haven’t been there in forever and they completely renovated the restaurant. It’s bright and modern, and giving Scottsdale vibes in the best way. The food was amazing as always.

(chips, guacamole, shrimp cocktail, prickly pear margaritas. I ordered the chicken for my entree and he had the tuna; everything was delicious)

Sending this beauty back to Vivrelle but looking forward to something new! They gave me a special discount code to share with you, too – use GINAHARNEY403 for 40% off your first three months. This is the best one I’ve seen them offer. You’re going to love it!

Always the Farm Rio

(Love this print and style but a heads up this dress runs really weird and small. I am a proud member of the IBTC and a true size small and could barely clasp the top portion)

Father’s Day celebration! I’m so glad our favorite guy was in town and we could celebrate.

We had brunch at Snooze,

and then the fam came over for swimming and dinner. I smoked three types of meat on the Traeger: two giant chuck roasts, two briskets (from ButcherBox), and four packs of chicken thighs.

Some of the meat!

I made a Caesar salad with homemade dressing and homemade gf croutons,

some artichoke dip, set out chips, salsa, madre brought over calabacitas, cheesy potatoes, my stepmom brought this fruit plate,

and we had popsicles, gf brownies with pb frosting, and peach cake for dessert. It was the perfect way to celebrate the amazing guys in our family!

Read, watch, listen:

Listening to this right now and it is RIVETING. I had no idea she’s had such a fascinating life (in good ways, and unfortunately in some devastating ways, too) and started acting when she was just months old.

I started watching this with Liv, and while it’s a bit slow, it’s so fun to see so many of the spots we saw in Kyoto. (I have my last two Japan recaps going live next week! It’s taken me forever to write them because I am still suffering from severe Japression.)

Check out this week’s podcast episode with my friend Ashley here! If you’ve had thyroid or any type of hormone issue and still not feeling like yourself, this is a must-listen.

What childhood lessons can you never give up?

Fitness, health, and good eats:

I won’t post the picture because it’s horrible but this recipe was surprisingly delicious. (I had salmon, pesto sauce and pasta on hand and was like why not.) The kiddos loved it and so did Liv’s friend (she lives in the neighborhood and joins us for dinner sometimes).

Our friends at GoMacro sent us some of their new squares to try. They’re SO good. Not as sweet as the original bars, but the flavors have been great and they have the same quality ingredients. I have a GoMacro bar almost every day (so does P!) and it’s fun to switch up the flavors.

Organifi is having a Prime Day promo today for an extra 10% off and you can stack my code FITNESSISTA here. If you buy 3 products, you get a Harmony free! My favorite products are the Green, Gold, Red, Harmony, Shilajit gummies, and hydrogen water tablets <— I use one almost every day. Check it out here.

Thank you so much for stopping by the blog today! Have an amazing weekend and I’ll see ya soon!

xoxo

Gina

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207: What Your Doctor Isn’t Testing | Thyroid, Hormones, and Getting Real Answers with Ashley Cruz Arata

Fitnessista — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 10:41:28 +0000

Hi friends!

I have a brand new podcast episode live, and today we are talking all about thyroid health, hormones, and why so many women are being told they’re “fine” when they are absolutely not.

I’m talking with my friend Ashley Cruz Arata, certified Integrative Health Practitioner and hormone specialist. For years she was dismissed by doctors who her me everything was fine because “all the labs were normal.” Meanwhile, she was dealing with 35 lbs of weight gain, relentless joint pain, brain fog and crippling fatigue. She eventually healed herself and now helps high-achieving women 35+ get the real answers their doctors have been missing. I think you are going to love her.

Check out what we chat about:

Why conventional thyroid testing only looks at two markers and why that is a massive problem for millions of women
The labs you should actually be asking for, including free T3, reverse T3, TPO antibodies, cortisol, and sex hormones
Why intermittent fasting and more cardio can make thyroid dysfunction significantly worse
The truth about thyroid medication and why taking it does not mean you are done
Two free, easy at-home habits that support your thyroid and cortisol rhythm every single day
The protein-before-coffee habit that can completely change how your day feels
How stress is silently wrecking your hormones and Ashley’s Sunday night ritual to manage it without adding more to your plate

And so much more!!

207: What Your Doctor Isn’t Testing | Thyroid, Hormones, and Getting Real Answers with Ashley Cruz Arata

It was so great getting to chat with Ashley and I hope you love this episode! If you have ever been dismissed by a doctor or told your labs are normal while still feeling terrible, this one is for you!

Ashley also has a free guide for you: Normal Isn’t Optimal: The Essential Hormone Lab Guide That Shows You What “Normal” Labs Are Missing. Grab it here: https://ashleycruzarata.myflodesk.com/normalisntoptimal

You can also find Ashley at:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleycruzarata/
Website: https://ashleycruzarata.com/

About Ashley:
Ashley Cruz Arata is a certified Integrative Health Practitioner helping high-achieving women 35+ lose weight and restore energy by addressing hormone and thyroid imbalances. After years of being told her labs were “normal” while dealing with fatigue, 40 lbs of weight gain, and brain fog – and a partial thyroidectomy that made things worse before they got better – she turned to functional medicine and never looked back. Ashley works with women who are done being dismissed and ready for real answers about their hormones.

Partners:

Shop Oliveda here.

Try out luxury handbags and jewelry from Vivrelle and use my code GINAHARNEY for your first month free!

Check out my new favorite red light device here, and use the code FITNESSISTA for a huge discount.

You can use my referral link here and the code FITNESSISTA for up to $250 off the Integrative Health Practitioner program. I highly recommend it!

The post 207: What Your Doctor Isn’t Testing | Thyroid, Hormones, and Getting Real Answers with Ashley Cruz Arata appeared first on The Fitnessista.

The best deals from Prime Day (things you’ll actually use)

Fitnessista — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 10:44:39 +0000

Sharing a roundup of my top finds from this year’s Prime Day!

Hiii friends! How are you? I hope that your week is going well! We celebrated Father’s Day, the Pilot and I had a much-needed date night, and P had a soccer friends swim party.

Today, I wanted to share a roundup of the best finds from Prime Day sales.

TBH, this sale can be overwhelming and so many creatorsare sharing their favorite finds. I wanted to make my list a bit smaller, majorly focusing on quality over quantity. Everything on this list is something that we use and love, or that I’m planning on buying. It’s a great time to stock up on some things you need, new products you’ve had your eye on, or maybe order a couple of holiday gifts in advance.

Here are my top picks for this year!

My Amazon storefront has the full roundup for easy browsing, too.

*a little note: this post contains affiliate links which allow me to earn a small commission. Every click and purchase make a huge difference, and I’m so grateful for your support.

The best deals from Prime Day (things you’ll actually use)

House and cooking finds:

This electric kettle. I have a similar one and use it to make tea every single night.

A KitchenAid mixer. We got one for our wedding, alomst 20 years ago, and it still looks and works extremely well.

Little Green Machine. With kids and pets…this is essential.

Great deal on a Dyson cordless vaccuum. Ours died, but I’m thinking of replacing it.

A healthier air fryer. We have a very similar one and I’m so glad that it’s not leeching plastics and chemicals into the food.

An Instant Pot! I use this every.single.day. It’s great for busy school nights and also makes the most perfect rice.

Plastic BPA free wine glasses for poolside wine.

Owala water bottles! We love ours. When I went to create the link, it told me I’ve bought 6 of them!

Kindle. I love having one because it keeps me from scrolling on my phone.

A Ring camera.

The only blender you ever need.

I use these glass meal prep containers every day.

Beauty + skincare:

Medicube capsule cream with PDRN. I recently fell in love with Medicube (like this Vitamin C cream) and their PDRN products are amazing.

This sleep mask. It has zero eye pressure and it’s my go-to for travel and during the summer months when the sun is awake before I’d like to be awake. I’ll wake up around 5am with the sun, put on this sleep mask, and fall bask asleep for a couple more hours or until the dogs wake me up.

Really tempted to try this at-home hair zapper.

My favorite eye cream.

I’ve been using this hair oil once a week and loooove it.

Makeup remover cloths.

The best clean self tanner.