Refreshed from the R3 Summit!

Last weekend, October 17-18 was the Prevention Magazine R3 Summit -- refresh, revive, and reinvent. Held at the Long Center here in Austin, the event brought together presenters and panelists from the health, fitness, and beauty industries. Here's a quick look at what I attended.

Friday night was the kickoff reception and the screening of the movie Resistance, which looks at the use of antibiotics in our food and medicine supply; there's a preview of the movie in the link. Following the screening was a panel discussion with the director Michael Graziano and other health experts.

On Saturday, you could check out fitness classes -- with Barre3 founder Sadie Lincoln or exercise trainer Chris Freytag.

Or hear panel presenters. The keynote speaker of the weekend was actress, model, and L'oreal spokeswoman Andie MacDowell. She now 56, and embraces her age and her look. Through her teens and 20s as a model, she was constantly pressured to be very thin, but it did not suit her physically or emotionally to be rail thin. She says everyone has to find their healthy weight, and you can't be healthy if you're starving, and said "I don't want to waste time being miserable." She's right: life's too short.

Another panel which was moderated by Prevention dietitian Ashley Koff, and included local chef Sonya Cote of Eden East. They stressed eating clean -- things with real food ingredients, no additives! And Sonya also did one of the cooking stage demos. I wish I had caught more of the panel on nutritional supplements, but from the tail end that I heard, the experts were keen on curcumin and Vitamin D3, and you definitely want to take ones from quality manufacturers.

I also really enjoyed:
Creating your own personalized fragrance; I made a body lotion with grapefruit, ginger, and a light musk scent!

 Get your chakras balanced... something I probably need more of, as well as a better understanding of it all!

Fabulous henna tattoos... the top picture is my friend Girl Gone Grits getting her hand done, and the bottom pic is my finished henna! It literally took 2 minutes for the lady to complete the design on my hand! And 10 days later, you can still see the image on my skin. (Yes, I am washing my hands, but not exfoliating them!) Pretty much every person I saw at the event had some sort of henna design on them.

And of course, the heart of it all! (From Applegate Farms, one of the main sponsors.)

Thanks, Prevention Magazine for inviting me to be a Very Important Blogger for the R3 Summit! Look forward to next year! Disclosure: I was an invited guest of Prevention to the R3 Summit; all opinions are my own.

Prevention Magazine's R3 Summit

I am excited! And ready for something totally new to me! I have been invited by Prevention Magazine to be a VIB -- Very Important Blogger -- at their upcoming R3 Summit (refresh, revive, reinvent) October 17-18 at the Long Center.  Now in its second year, R3 features health/wellness, fitness, culinary, and beauty experts and sponsors and puts you in the driver's seat to discover new ways to optimize your health.

Friday night will feature a kickoff reception and then a screening of the documentary Resistance (regarding the use of antibiotics), followed by a panel discussion. All day Saturday will have programming on the terrace of the Long Center including:

• Aha! Moments -- learn some breakthrough thinking that will change the way you perceive health
• Love Your Age -- how women today are redefining age
• Eat Clean for Optimal Health -- the power of clean eating for weight loss, energy and overall mood
• Shake Up Your Supplements -- what you really need to know about all those vitamin and minerals out there

Some of the presenters include actresses Andie MacDowell and Annabelle Gurwitch, CBS Medical Correspondent Dr. Holly Phillips, barre3 founder Sadie Lincoln, and exercise guru Chris Freytag (I've done her videos!). There will also be skin and hair consultations, healthy cooking demos, chakra and reiki sessions, and fitness demos.

Check out their website or Facebook page for all the details on the schedule and sponsors. Tickets to this national event are only $95, but as a VIB, I am pleased to offer my readers a discount code good for $20 off! Registration can be done here through their website.

Prevention hosted a dinner at Eden East this past week to kick off the Summit's festivities. Located at Springdale Farm in East Austin, it's a beautiful setting for an outdoor dinner. Executive Chef Sonya Cote is known for her use of local and seasonal foods, and they do their prep and cooking in a large trailer. With lights in the oak trees and refined picnic tables, it's a gorgeous setting with the farm as the backdrop. We were treated to a five-course meal complete with wine pairings. And speaking of pairs/pears, my favorite course was the delicate pear spoon cake served in a mason jar of course!

Thanks to Prevention Magazine for inviting me to be a VIB! In full disclosure, I have been been invited by them to be a VIB, but have not been paid for my blogging opinions or expert fitness services.

And if you're coming to R3 from out of town, here are some restaurant suggestions that are within one mile walking of the Long Center, which is conveniently located just south of downtown Austin. 

• Along Barton Springs Road (the south side of the Long Center) El Alma (interior Mexican food), Terry Blacks BBQ (I haven't been yet, but it's supposed to be good, as they have a good pedigree), Sandy's Frozen Custard (not the healthiest, but the custard is delicious!); going further west past Lamar Blvd is a strip of iconic Austin places, but the food is not what I'd call outstanding at any. A it further down and to the north is Casa de Luz, one of the few macrobiotic places in town.
• Walking south on South First Street: Torchy's Taco trailer park, Sway (upscale Thai), Elizabeth Street Cafe (upscale Vietnamese, with amazing French pastries for breakfast), Lenoir (fine dining, dinner only), a trio of sweets shops La Patisserie (French), Dolce Neve (gelato), Sugar Mama's Bakeshop (cupcakes and other baked goods), El Chile (Mexican),  Bouldin Creek Cafe (all vegetarian), and La Mexicana Bakery (Mexican bakery with tacos, etc. too)
• Along South Congress Avenue: Doc's Motorworks (bar food), Perla's (seafood), Hopdoddy (burgers galore), Homeslice (pizza), Enoteca (casual Italian).
• There are a few places just on the east side of South First Street across from the Long Center, but I don't know that I can give them a full recommendation.