Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Wednesday Wellness: Weight loss cardio plan

After completing my cleanse, I decided to get serious about staying healthy.  In addition to more mindful eating, I knew exercising was a crucial part of getting into better shape.  Unfortunately, I get bored easily and am not the biggest fan of cardio, so I've never been able to stick with a plan before.

Luckily, I found this Weight Loss Exercise Routine from Prevention.  The weight exercises were a little too involved for me, but I love the Speed Ladder Cardio Plan and have been doing it daily.  I loved that it included the intensity level and how it would feel, so I knew what to expect.  This plan challenges me, but isn't overwhelming.  Also, I liked that it was 30 minutes, so it easily fits into my schedule.  I can't make excuses about not having enough time to workout anymore!  The time goes by quickly anyway because of the different speed segments, so I never get bored.

I've already lost some weight and feel much better.  I look forward to updating this cardio plan to keep challenging myself.

How do you keep interested while working out?

Friday, February 22, 2013

Part Six: All it's barked up to be

Our final BarkBox arrived today and was a great way to end our subscription.

Here's the list:
There was a great mix of items in this box that was enjoyable, but the quality of the items remained impressive.

How do you keep your pets teeth clean and healthy?

*Update:  There was an offer on Groupon for a three month subscription to BarkBox that I just had to get, so the adventure isn't over yet.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

The Dr. Oz Show taping

My mom is a big Dr. Oz fan, so for her birthday in January, I submitted a request for tickets to a taping of his show.  We went this morning and had an absolute blast.  It was an extremely organized process and the studio was beautiful with not a bad seat in the house.  Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures.


During the first half of the show we learned that taking too many antioxidant supplements is actually bad for you.  Instead most of the vitamins that we need can be gained simply through having a healthier diet.  Dr. Oz showed us what our food options and portions were to get more Vitamin A, C, E and Selenium daily.

The second half of the show focused on ayurvedic beauty and finding your dosha skin type.  I didn't know anything about this topic, but was happy to learn more about it.  Ayurveda is an ancient medical system of India that treats the underlying skin problems rather than simply relying on topical solutions.  A dosha is your mind-body type and there are three doshas with unique sets of characteristics.  Take the quiz here to find out your dosha type.  I was a Pitta.

It was a fun and informative day.  I hope we can watch another taping sometime again.

What talk shows do you watch?

Wednesday Wellness: Triple braided bun up-do

Last Friday, after working throughout the day, I needed to return for an event later that night.  When I went home to change and prepare, I noticed that my hair had definitely flattened and didn't look too great.  I quickly searched the Internet for some casual up-do ideas and found this triple braided bun style.  Buns are one of my favorite hairstyles, especially when braided, so I figured that three times the braided bun would be perfect.

I loved how easy it was to do this hairstyle.  I could quickly get ready and fix my hair, but still have time to relax.

Here's all you need to do:
  • Separate your hair into three ponytails.
  • Braid each ponytail.
  • Wrap each braid into a bun and secure with bobbypins.
I just wore a headband with mine, but if you have bangs or shorter layers in the front you can leave those loose.
My hair stayed in place all night and I got a ton of compliments.  This hairstyle will be used regularly to add some casual glamor to my day.

What's your favorite up-do style?

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Valentine's Day surprise

Last year's Valentine's Day was horrible.  Like I-cried-in-the-Valentine's Day-section-of-Walmart horrible.  This year I half-jokingly posted a Facebook status requesting Valentine's Day support in the form of flowers and/or stuffed animals.  To my happy surprise, my friend Aaron messaged me and asked for my address to send something.

Flash forward to Valentine's Day when I come home from work to find a huge bag from the World Wildlife Fund on the kitchen table.  Inside there's an adorable stuffed polar bear and a Valentine's Day tote.  Then I pull out a picture of a polar bear, a fact sheet about them and an adoption certificate.  I'm completely baffled at this point because I had no recollection of donating recently.
I've named him Nanuk, which is the Inuit name for the polar bear.  It translates to "an animal worthy of great respect."
Obviously my thought process was, "I need to call WWF and sort this out because obviously there's been a mistake... but what if I have to send back my stuffed animal!?"

Thankfully, I rummaged around in the bag and found a final envelope with a letter explaining that Aaron had adopted a polar bear in my name.  I felt a huge wave of relief and then excitement.  It was such a thoughtful, unique and caring present that I'll remember for the rest of my life.  I'm so thankful that I have such an amazing friend and can definitely say that this was one of the best Valentine's Days ever.

How did you celebrate today?

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Wednesday Wellness: Smoothie detox cleanse review

I completed my seven-day detox on Monday and wanted to provide some feedback for those of you who are considering trying one.

Here are some of the most common questions that I was asked when I told people about my cleanse:

Why are you doing this?
I've heard a lot of positive feedback from friends who have completed their own cleanses.  I hope that this will help me feel better and more balanced as I strive to be healthier in the new year.

What do the smoothies taste like?
The breakfast smoothie was my favorite.  It tasted like a typical, fruit smoothie and was a wonderful way to start my day.  I'm not the biggest fan of vegetables, particularly celery and cucumbers, which comprised most of the lunch smoothie.  The sweetness of the fruit and almond milk helped balance it out though.  The dinner smoothie was the most unique.  It was more fruit based, so initially it tasted sweet, but there was also cayenne pepper, which meant some heat followed.  At first, I didn't like this smoothie, but I started to enjoy it after a couple days.

How often do you get hungry?
I didn't get hungry at all.  The breakfast portion was large enough to last until lunchtime, but wasn't too much to make me feel overly full in the morning.  The lunch smoothie had a much larger portion and most of the time I couldn't even finish all of it.  I had enough left over for three days.  The dinner smoothie was also the perfect size to end the day feeling full and content.  In the daily schedule, it actually includes a snack smoothie, but I never felt the need to have one.

How do you prepare the drinks?
I bought three pitchers to store each smoothie.  I prepared batches ahead of time for each drink that would last three days.  Then, I made batches to last the final four days.  Luckily, my blender has a "smoothie" setting, so that was a huge help.  It was a bit of a long process to cut up, measure and blend everything, so I was glad I didn't have to do that daily.

What were the benefits?
I lost about seven pounds, which was mostly water weight, but it's an added bonus.  Most importantly, I truly felt cleansed and balanced.  I slept much more peacefully and deeply.  I felt less sluggish and heavy during the day.  I felt more energized during workouts and actually looked forward to them.  My skin brightened and cleared.

What were the drawbacks?
Over the weekend there was the huge snowstorm, so while my family was eating warm, cozy foods, I had to drink cold smoothies.  That was a little frustrating, but I didn't stray.

It was absolutely a positive experience that I plan to complete twice a year to stay on track.  I encourage everyone to give cleanses a try, even if it's for a shorter amount of time or substituting smoothies for breakfast.

What are your thoughts on cleanses?

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Wednesday Wellness: No-buy month

Last month I made an agreement with my sister that we would refrain from buying anything throughout January.  It was difficult sometimes, but was a fantastic experience that I'd recommend to anyone.

I slipped up twice at the beginning of the month to take advantage of a nail polish deal and to buy a limited edition eyeshadow palette.  Then, my sister and I sat down together to go through all of our clothes, bath, beauty and nail polish items to reinforce that we needed to take our commitment seriously.  After realizing that I have 11 body washes, almost 100 nail polishes, 5 body butters and a bunch more products in excess, I fully commited to the no-buy month.

It was difficult sometimes because of the post-holiday deals.  Even if I don't need something at the time, I always think that I'll need it in the future and want to take advantage of the deal right then.  Participating in the no-buy forced me to me stop and consider how much I already had.  I realized that I genuinely didn't need anything and that it's more important to save my money for things that matter.  More mindful shopping helped me to be aware of my overspending and impulse purchasing habits.

My bank account is much happier and so am I after this experience.  Even though the month is over, I'm going to continue to be more conscious of what I'm spending and whether or not it's worth it.

Have you ever done a no-buy?

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Try This! Smoothie detox cleanse

I've been wanting to try a juice/smoothie detox cleanse for a while now, but kept putting it off because of special occasions that would conflict.  I finally decided to go for it this week to help stay on track with my wellness resolutions.

The Dr. Oz 3 Day Detox Cleanse seemed to be well balanced and easy to follow, so I settled on that, but will be doing it for 7 days.  I'm going to make batches of each smoothie ahead of time, so I won't need to make them daily.  I bought all of the items that I'll need and it will cost about $14 per day.

Even if you don't want to commit to a cleanse, these are still great, healthy smoothie recipes to try out.
What smoothies do you like?

Monday, February 4, 2013

LIVE with Kelly and Michael taping

Sometimes I take my proximity to New York City for granted, but when my friend, Natalie, posted pictures from her recent trip to a taping of The Chew, I knew I had to step my game up.  Also, I thought it would be a wonderful surprise birthday present for my mom.  Unfortunately, The Chew gave out too many tickets for the taping that we'd been assigned, but they graciously gave us VIP passes for another taping and got us into LIVE with Kelly and Michael instead.

Our seats were at the very back, so it was hard to see at times, but the energy was definitely tangible to make up for it.  Kelly was adorable, quirky and spunky.  Michael was hilarious, huge and extremely sweet.  They both interacted with the audience during commercials, which was nice.  The guests for the day were Russell Brand (such a strange man) and Pauley Perrette (very down-to-earth).  Jennifer Hudson was a surprise guest because they needed to film her interview for another day.  She looked great and was very humble.
They were posing like Beyonce.
It was a fun day and I can't wait to check out other shows.

Have you been to any show tapings?

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Tasting Trail: Wilson's BBQ

I went to college in North Carolina and immediately fell in love with Southern food.  Sweet tea and hush puppies were high on the list of favorites, but pulled pork sandwiches were at the top.  I was so excited to see that there was a barbecue place on the list of restaruants and couldn't wait to get my pulled pork fix.
Maybe my expectations were too high, but Wilson's BBQ was a huge disappointment.  Everything was overpriced and my food was cold, my bun was soggy and the sauce simply tasted like vinegar.  The sweet tea and cornbread were good, but I don't think I'll be going back for seconds.
It should also be against the law to sell cornbread without honey butter.