New outfits from boutique

So, obviously I haven't done any posting on this blog since the summer.  Once school and soccer season started for my kids, my focus had to shift so blogging about my health journey had to get put by the wayside.  Any other crazy busy working moms out there too?  Plus my 2nd part time job as a photographer took off in the Fall too, so I was very busy with that too!

Anyway, I'm happy to report I made it through the holiday season without too much damage on my new healthy lifestyle.  I did indulge, within reason, at special holiday events and family dinners, but I feel like I just listened to my body and didn't overdo it.  I gained about 3-4 lbs total back, but I'm already on my way to getting those back off!  Back on track without all the holiday dessert temptations!

I decided to get on here and do a quick fashion blog post for fun.  I found a new place to order from online, The Pink Lily Boutique (http://.thepinklilyboutique.com) I like that was advertised on my facebook newsfeed, and ordered a couple new outfits.  I'm really happy with my outfit choices!  Both tops in the pictures (size mediums, my normal size) and both pants below came from there.  (The boots were ones I already had, that I believe I ordered online at Charlotte Russe (http://charlotterusse.com)

The black pants are the basic fleece lined leggings, which are paired with the Simply Perfect Chevron Tunic (the name really says that!).  The fleece leggings are really soft and comfy and stretchy, but not too thin.  They were a one size fits most (0-10).  I would only wear a long tunic shirt or dress with them still, but that's just me.  (the old debate, are leggings pants? . . . I say they can be pants if worn with long shirts :-)  The tunic is a lightweight "sweatery" material, so I'll have to be careful not to snag it on things.  But it is very comfy too, and I like the scooped hem line in front and back on the shirt.

My second outfit was the dark wash skinny jeans (these run small, and said so on their website . . . I normally wear a 6 in Old Navy jeans right now, but ordered these in size 11, and they seem to fit perfect, not too tight, not too loose).  Then the top with the jeans is a light red comfy "Back to Basics Red Tunic".  This top was a little wider than I expected, but I still think medium fits better than a small might.  It is shorter in front and longer in back.  And it has the "wing" type sleeves with extra material between the arms and armpits.

So, facebook marketing "got me!"  But I'm glad I found a new site that I like the clothes at.  A little more expensive than I may normally spend, but maybe they'll have some percentages off in the future.  I joined their email list, so hopefully I'll be notified of new deals.  I had gotten a few new summer outfits after my weight loss in the summer, but haven't gotten many new winter outfits.  So, it was nice to get these.  I'm sure I'll be back to The Pink Lily Boutique for more in the future.  I'll share on here hopefully again when I do!

Looking for Motivation to Get Healthy & Fit? Here's a solution!

I may, from time to time, run some challenges of my own to help keep myself on track with my health and fitness and to have others join me in becoming healthy and fit too.  However, due to the increased busyness of my work schedule and Fall school and sports schedule with my family, I won't be able to do them as often as I had originally planned.  But I still have a solution for you!

If you are serious about changing your health for good, I recommend checking out these facebook pages of the two sisters that I've done health and fitness challenges with.  They run challenges often that you could be a part of too!  Being a part of one of their private, online Facebook groups is what really, really helped me to make a permanent health change.  I started out doing a 14 day sugar detox health challenge with Marta, then I did a 30 day Pi-Yo fitness challenge with Maggie.  Both were great and helped keep me on track.  I truly feel after doing these, I have made a lifestyle change that I can stick to long term.  In the process of about 3 months, I've also lost about 20 lbs.  I didn't set out to even lose that much, but my body has just responded well to feeding it healthy, whole food, and to staying away from processed, unhealthy food.  Check them out below and join one of their challenges so that you can see the benefits too!

Maggie-Four Fit Sisters:  https://www.facebook.com/maggievee15
Marta at Haus of Girls Fit Family:  https://www.facebook.com/HausOfGirlsFitFamily
Four Fit Sisters Blog:  http://fourfitsisters.com

Looking for a little more motivation?  Here are my before, during, & after pictures over the course of the time I was doing the challenges with Maggie and Marta.  Since day 47, in the past 20 days I've just been trying to maintain, continue sticking to healthy eating as much as possible (with allowing myself a couple treats or meal off a week), and exercising at least 20 minutes a day . . . and I've lost another 4.2 lbs in that time!  Also, from a recent physical, my cholesterol went down from what it was 2 years ago, 195, to 139!  (a drop of 56)  I am just amazed at how much better I feel!  It is worth it to get serious about your health!

Where do I buy some of these foods and ingredients for these recipes?

I think one of the biggest challenges I have faced when deciding to eat this new, healthy way, is figuring out

#1 - how to cook . . . because yes, I've never been a cook, and yes, I am spoiled because I still have my mom living near me who does know how to cook and makes our family a lot of meals to share during the week.  (Thankfully, she's also embraced trying the new recipes I've found!)  But I also have tried cooking a few of these recipes myself, I'm proud to say! :-)

#2 - where do I buy some of these foods and ingredients for these recipes?  I will focus on the answer to #2 on this post.

Nitrate/Nitrite Free Bacon - Hormel Natural Choice bought at . . . Walmart!  It seems like bacon shouldn't be allowed, but it is!  I have two pieces almost every morning for breakfast.

No sugar added pasta sauces (did you know many have added sugar?? read the ingredients on yours in your cupboards now)

Organic Full Circle Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce . . . bought at Bi-Lo

Premium Organic Paesana Tomato & Basil . . . bought at Costco (There were also some sugar free ones at Walmart, but they were more expensive than these . . .)  LOVE these sauces with my spaghetti squash!

Coconut Oil (my new best friend for my coffee and to cook with!) - Carrington Farms Pure, Unrefined, Cold Pressed 100% Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil . . . bought at Costco

Coconut Sugar (another new favorite for sweetening my coffee or baking with) - Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Coconut Palm Sugar . . . bought at Ingles

Paleo Wraps (a nice flour tortilla alternative for tacos, or I even like them with almond butter spread on them and rolled up for a snack!) . . . these bought from julianbakery.com online, but they may be carried in your local healthfood store also.

Almond Flour & Tapioca Flour & Coconut Butter (used in baking some "better for you" sweet treats!) . . . bought at Fresh Market  - a bit more expensive than I like to pay, but having healthy treats available and made for when the mood strikes me to be able to grab instead of processed junk food is worth it to me!  These have lasted longer than I thought they would too!

Pickles (for when you need something salty and crunchy!) . . . Farmer's Garden by Vlasic . . . found at Walmart and Publix.  Did you know some pickles have added food coloring and extra sugar?  These use beta carotene for coloring and the spears (empty jar) have no added sugar listed on the ingredients.  The dill chips do list Sugar as an ingredient, which is kind of weird.  But then it says less than 1g of sugar on the nutritional label.  So these are still probably a very good option compared to others!

 

Protein Bars (good for when you are in a time crunch and didn't have the time to plan ahead) . . . I like these Kind bars, the dark chocolate nuts & sea salt only have 5g of sugar . . . bought at Target, may have available elsewhere too.

So these are some of my new foods and ingredients that I've added to my new healthy eating lifestyle and where I've found them at.  Hope this helps some of you who are looking to incorporate these into your new clean eating too!  

Back to School Clothes - Kid Styles

I can't believe it's only a short 3 weeks left of summer before SCHOOL STARTS!  If you're like me, you don't really want to even think about it yet, but I really should start a little planning.  Along with getting new school supplies, backpacks, and lunch boxes, we also need to start going through all of our kids' clothes and see what fits and what doesn't for heading into the new school year.  For us living in the South, we are lucky that it doesn't really get to be Fall like weather until end of October/early November, so there are a lot of Spring and Summer clothes from this past season that they can wear for the start of school.  But for those of you in colder areas, what are some of your favorite Back to School clothes for your kids?  Some of my favorites that my daughter wore last Fall came from one of our favorite stores, Gymboree.  Here are a few outfits we love from there on her!  The brown flowered dress is still a favorite to wear this summer too, just without the long sleeve shirt underneath.

Find more adorable kids clothes at 

Gymboree: Gymboree

Everyday Fashion - Spring and Summer Style

One of the most fun things for me about getting healthy and fit is enjoying wearing my clothes a little more, because they fit a little better than before with a few less inches on me.  Here is one of my favorite everyday fashion styles that I've been enjoying wearing this Spring and Summer.

Coral lace short sleeved top - Apt 9 from Kohls (bought Spring 2014)
Straight leg jeans - American Eagle (bought a few years ago)
White flat strappy sandals - S.O.  from Kohls (bought Spring 2014)

Find some similar styles for yourself at:

New Fitness Find - Functional and Fashionable!

Are you a lucky exerciser like me who starts sweating almost the minute you start exercising?  Supposedly it's supposed to be a sign of health to sweat? . . . or so I've heard.  If so, then I've been really healthy for most of my life!  I would rather not sweat so much, but since I do, I always am searching for a good way to keep sweat off my face when I'm working out.  I've tried cloth headbands before, but I must have an odd shaped head because they always pop off or slide up or down, and just end up being more of a bother than what they're worth!

 I was thinking to myself the other day, I wish I could make a sweat rag I could carry in my hand that would somehow be attached to my hand or arm that I could just wipe my sweat off with when I'm running and keep going!  For a moment I thought I might have a brilliant idea for a new invention and might be on my way to becoming a millionaire . . . but then I searched online and found it has already been invented.

Introducing the handana!  I ordered 2 of these to try at http://www.myhandana.com and I've really been happy with the results!  I just use it to wipe the sweat when I'm running and it does absorb it and I keep going.

Of course you have to wash it each time before using it again, so I may recommend getting more than 2 if you work out more than twice a week like me.  But so far these have been a great new fitness find for me . . . functional and fashionable!  I got this purple stripe designed one as well as a pink one of course!  Check out their website if you want to order one for yourself! Use coupon code healthfit2014 to get 10% off!



Make sure to measure your hand to know what size to order.  I measured mine per the instructions on the site and ordered a small and it seems to fit well.  What fitness finds do you like as part of your workout wear??

My other workout wear, besides my handana, in the above picture was:
* light blue light weight sheer workout shirt with hole in back (see pic below) - Old Navy (bought Spring 2014) . .. hole is a little different, but I actually love wearing this because it keeps you so cool for running or working out in! :-)
* Nike black shorts with white trim - Academy Sports (bought Summer 2013)
* Saucony Running Shoes - Academy Sports (bought Summer 2013)

What do I eat in a typical day?

Sometimes when people think of eating healthy, they think it means boring food choices.  But I have found that to not be the case at all!  My main goals for the past month that I have really been focusing on my food choices have been no processed foods, no gluten, no dairy, and no sugar.  Basically eat REAL FOOD and try to get a lot of veggies in too!  So, that seems like a lot of NO's right?  But there are also a lot of YES's!!!  One of my favorites that I can still eat is eggs and bacon (nitrate free).  In fact, sometimes I have it not only for breakfast but for a night time snack lately.  :-)  Much better than the chips and icecream I was having before!  What does a typical day look like for me?  Here's an example from my food journal to give you an idea:

I've also found so many great new recipes to try.  I share a lot of my new favorite ones in this post  if you want to check them out, or check my Pinterest Paleo Recipe Board too in the sidebar of this blog.  I have really found that it's not all that limiting, and basically gives you a lot of possibilities to choose from eating this way.  And I've found the definite key is to plan ahead and have the right kind of foods on hand, so when a craving hits, you choose blueberries and strawberries over ice cream!

Another thing that helped me learn how to eat this way was signing up for a paid enrollment in a private 14 Day Sugar Detox FaceBook Challenge Group, where I was told the whole list of NO foods and the whole list of YES foods, received daily encouragement and support, and also was able to ask questions and learn from my leader of the group who had been through it before, as well as other members in the group.  There wasn't any fitness program or nutrition supplements that had to be bought to join this group, just a 1 time small fee that allowed me entry into the group to gain the information I needed to go through this sugar detox successfully.

How I feel from eating this way has truly been one of the best decisions that I have made and I still can't believe that I've seen so many positive results, on the inside and outside of my body, in only a month of doing this.  If you are interested in committing to learning how to eat the way I am and rid yourself of your sugar addiction for good, please contact me through email at healthyandfitat36@gmail.com or message me or comment on www.facebook.com/healthyandfitat36 and I can get you information on how you can join a 14 Day Sugar Detox Group Challenge too!