May 4th, 2010Hii! 
Sorry I have been so MIA lately. The semester is wrapping up with school and things have been CRAZY! I also just opened my new fitness blog, http://www.shesafitchick.com, so come check it out & tell your friends!
I hope everyone is having a GREAT Tuesday and I promise after next week I will start updating more. xoxo!
May 1st, 2010I got tickets to Self’s “Workout in the Park” on May 8th in NYC with my sister and Sammy! Check out the schedule, it looks so fun! Anyone else going?
April 29th, 2010Thanks to random.org, the 5 winners are…
#2 – Kristen
#9 – Nancy
#14 – Isabella
#3 – Monique
#7 – Suki
Yayy! Please email me your address and phone number to jennifer914(at)gmail.com.
April 24th, 2010
Ready for some freebies? Because I am ready to give them! FIVE, that’s right, I said 5 lucky readers will receive a a FREE Dove Visibly Smooth deodorant! As most of you know, the Dove clinical strength deodorants don’t normally come a low price so I was excited when I got the chance to give them away!
Here is how to enter (each item gives you one comment which ups your chances of winning).
Good luck! The 5 winners will be announced on Thursday April 29th!
April 21st, 2010The lovely Heidi invited me to a free Yoga class, sponsored by Dove, to test our their new deodorant! I brought Sammy with me, and we had a BLAST! This was my first ever Yoga class, and I thought the instructor Paula was amazing! I learned some great breathing techniques that have helped my anxiety substantially over the weekend (honestly, like comparable to taking a Xanax they work so well!)
The deodorant is really great. I LOVED the smell and stayed sweat free through the whole class (and I still smelled awesome even when I got home!) After the class, we hung out and chatted while munching on some healthy snacks, and of course, had our own little photo shoot!
Keep your eye out on the blog this week, as I have 5 of the deodorants to give away on my site! (Woohoo, my first giveaway!)
Thanks again Heidi! We had sooo much fun!
April 19th, 2010
I found this over at fatburningtips4women.com (see direct link to her posthere) and thought I would share! Apparently, doing cardio is NOT the best way to lose weight.
1) Cardio machines over-estimate the number of calories burned by up to 31%. (reported in Mens Health, Feb 2009)
2) One research study found that when men and women did 6 hours of cardio every week for one year, they only lost 6 pounds. (Reference: Obesity 15:1496-1512, 2007. Exercise Effect on Weight and Body Fat in Men and Women. Anne McTiernan*, et al.)
3) When some people start a cardio program, they end up eating
more, and may even gain weight because of this. (Reference:
International Journal of Obesity 32: 177-184, 2008).
4) Even scientists admit that cardio does not burn as much fat as
you’d expect based on the number of calories burned in a workout.
(Reference: Br J Sports Med. 2009 Sep 29)
5) And finally, head-to-head research has shown that interval
training works better than slow cardio for fat loss – even when
diet is not changed. (Reference: Int J Obes 2008 Apr;32(4):684-91).
Interesting!!
(Photo courtesy of http://doasiwrite.wordpress.com)
April 18th, 2010
As the self-proclaimed palest person in the world I am always on a quest to find the “best” self tanner and this time, I think the mission has been accomplished! After reading numerous reviews about Clarins Self Tanning Instant Gel, I finally took the plunge (and dropped the $32.50). What I found was a GREAT product, that actually does what it says it will. It gave me an even and natural all over color that was not orange. Like all self tanners, the smell was awful. I showered at night, exfoliated, and put on a light coat of regular lotion (per the instruction of the Clarins counter girl). I let it dry and then applied a thin coat of the self tanner. I hung out for a few hours and then went to bed. When I arose, I smelled like a Mystic Tan machine exploded on me, but after a quick rinse in the shower, the smell was gone and the color was AMAZING. It is definitely worth the money to invest in this product if you have been let down by many self tanners in the past like I have.
Find any great products lately that rock your world?
April 16th, 2010Sometimes I hit a complete wall with what I should post about. As you all know I busy trying to eat better and workout more, along with going to school and working 40 hours a week. Describing my day to you in a blog post would either a. stress you out, or b. put you to sleep. When I get ideas for posts I write them out and store them. This way I know I have at least 1-2 blog posts for the week already written and ready to go. But what do you do when the creative juices just aren’t flowing? Most of you have your own blogs, but as a reader (which I know you are one, because you are reading this) what do you look for in a blog? What would you like to see someone talk about?
Typically I gravitate towards fitness/beauty blogs but I love blogs that include these and mix it up (like Nancy’s site.) I can count on her for fashion tips, fitness, recipies, daily life and adorable pictures of her dog. Post your favorite blogs or blog topics in the comments!
April 13th, 2010Form: Pay attention not only what you are doing, but how you are doing it. If you are using a weight machine, take the time to read the directions. We have all seen it all too often where people just plop down without taking the time to adjust the seat and machine settings to their body. If you are doing free weights or lifting, ask someone (a gym employee or trainer), or research the moves on the internet beforehand and come with instructions. The disregard for proper form is not something to be taken lightly, but can result in serious injury.
Slow down: Do not rush the movements. If it is too heavy for you, than you need to decrease the weight. Plowing through a workout does not give each muscle the controlled movement it deserves, therefore, weakening your workout. If you are doing 12 reps, make sure each is slow and just as powerful as the first. When I am getting really tired around 8 or 9, I start counting in my head “8 – Only 4 left, 9 – Only 3 Left..” and so on. This will help you push through those last few reps without rushing them.
Concentrate: Think about the muscles you are working as you work them. Feel each movement: This literally helps you isolate and better work the muscle!
Log it: Keep a log with you at the gym (whether it be in a notebook, training log, or on your phone). For a long time I was embarrassed to tote a notebook around with me and log things. It seems so silly now: Why should I be embarrassed that I care enough about my health and body, that I don’t want people to see me jotting down my routine? Now this notebook has become my best friend. I will make notes when a set of reps seems to easy (time to increase the reps?) or if a routine gets boring (I haven’t hit this yet, but I expect I soon will). You can even paste in articles or clippings from a magazine so you have new material to try if you do get bored!
Schedule & Plan It: Plan your workouts in advance. Writing down your workout plan makes it more of a commitment for you. (Have a planner? Scheduling your workout time with specifics: 10am Gym, Upper body). Doing this helps keep you on track: From the moment you arrive, you know exactly what you are doing and the order that you are doing it in.
What are your tips for an effective workout?
April 11th, 2010For once in my life I am NOT living paycheck to paycheck. I know I am only 25, but I have struggled with money from a very young age. At 19 I was in $10,000 credit card debt and had to drop out of college to work and pay it off. Last year I managed to accumulate another $4,000. And to make matters worse, at the end of the year I had to buy a new car as well (and take on the car insurance bill that I was previously not paying). Right now, I am debt free (with the exception of my student loans) AND have no car payment. This was not easy for me and I still struggle with it every day, so I thought I would share some of my tips. I would love to hear some of the tips you all have for being a savvy saver and careful spender!
Cease the credit: I did not close the accounts, but I cut up all of the cards and stopped using them. This is an imperative step because when you have a credit card, you can live beyond your means. Without, you cannot. When I walk into Gap now, I don’t run around the store with a blind eye to a price tag; I don’t leave with $300 worth of clothes that I will find in the back of my closet a year later with the tags on them. Now I go in with a coupon and just get what I need or really want. Is it as fun, glamorous and impressive? No. But what is impressive is watching the figures grow in my savings account! (Note: There are two reasons I recommend that you do not close the accounts. One is for legitimate emergencies (new shoes are not an emergency). The other good reason to keep them is if you have bad credit. It is extremely hard to get a new card when you have bad credit, and you cannot build your credit unless you use credit. I am still off credit cards, but when I do return, I am going to use one with a very low credit limit, like $300, just to make sure even if I max it out that it is never too much for me to pay off in one month).
Keep the Change: As much as you like to think you dip into your change, odds are you probably do not do it as often as you think. I used to pick out change in my car for a coffee or snack on the road. Try going without and saving all of your change in a jug. At the end of a set period of time (maybe 3 months?) find a local bank or credit union that has a change machine free of charge. You would be surprised how quickly that loose change at the bottom of your purse can turn into $20, $50, or even $100 dollars! (If you use Bank of America, try their “keep the change” savings account. If you spend $3.60 on your card for example, it would charge you $4.00 and put the additional $.40 in your savings account. I have been using this since October, and my Keep the Change account says they have put over $300 into that account!)
Do it yourself: How often do you stop at a coffee shop that is right by your house? This is one area that I struggle in because I am one of those people that is convinced “I don’t have time”. So lets break it down and make myself look bad! I currently spend $3.90 per day on coffee (two per day). That equates to $27.30 per week, $109.20 per month, and $1,419.60 a year!?! If someone stopped me and asked me at ANY given morning, if I had time to spend 5 minutes making a cup of coffee to get $1,419.60, there is no doubt in my mind that I would be making it. ALWAYS look at your spending in how much it costs you in a year, and see which things you can replace and do yourself (make at home).
What are your smart savings and spending tips?
RSS Feed
