MOTIVATION...getting it---and keeping it!

                         .MOTIVATION. 
....Getting it--and keeping it! 

How many times have you went to bed at night thinking, "Tomorrow's the day. I WILL get healthy." Its so easy to say! BUT! Once the rubber meets the road,  you've worked all day its 5:00 and your trying to drag yourself to the gym after a hard days work, it's not so easy and you are all of a sudden not so motivated! Here are a few tricks to help amp up your motivation so you will have the motivation to push through and meet your goals!


1. Picture success. It sounds so cliche and simple....But really...When you're laying on the couch dreading that hour you need to spend at the gym, thinking about how much easier it would be to pop in a chick flick and finish that box of Oreo's, step back and remember WHY. Picture yourself in the summer time totally comfortable with yourself at a pool party in a bathing suit. Or picture yourself on that vacation you have planned with your great new body in clothes you previously might not have been able to wear, wearing them with confidence! Now think of the opposite....Think of how it would be if you chose the easy road....Perhaps packing for that vacation, trying on your old jean shorts and having to go to the store and pick up a pair in a size up?...Which do you chose? The decision is one you make now. The choice is yours... NO EXCUSES!

2. Sign up for classes and pay ahead! This is one that really seems to do the trick for me. If I know that I've paid for it...I'm not gonna miss it. Signing up for a fitness class locks you in. You feel almost obligated to show up, and for me thats what I need! If you've got someone in counting on you to show up for their class, you'll be less apt to skip out.

3. Make a date! Make a plan with  a friend to meet you at the gym for a workout! This one kind of goes along with the previous one, but if you know somebody is counting on you it's not as easy to blow it off! Plan for something like every Tuesday and Thursday me and X meet at the gym, or go for a jog or bike ride together. Whatever type of physical activity you choose. That way you've at LEAST got 2 days a week covered!

4. It might sound silly, but write yourself a letter. Sometimes we need to be reminded that nobody knows you better than yourself, thus nobody knows quite how to motivate you as well as you do! The power of your personal motivation is SO strong, you just need to learn how channel it. Sit down and pour out on paper all the reasons you are working so hard on achieving your goals. Paint a picture of exactly how you aim to be a year from now. List all the things you aim to achieve. Be entirely honest with yourself.  Remind yourself of what it is you are striving for. Remind yourself how much you want this. So when you feel totally unmotivated and would rather sit at home, just open up your letter and let it remind you what you are working for and why you need to get out and make it happen!

5. Pebble jar. Use 2 jars. Fill the first jar with pebbles representing each pound you wish to lose. Once you lose a pound a pebble goes into the other jar. This will give you a visual on how far you've come and how far you have to go! When you have that visual staring at you on the kitchen counter it can be quite motivating!

6. Buy a new workout outfit that makes you feel confident. It sounds so unimportant....But when we feel like a bum, we'll perform like a bum. If you work out in a pair of shorts that make your legs look stubby and a drapey old t shirt its going to discourage you. Wearing something that accentuates your features will help you feel motivated and confident in the gym. There are styles to suit every body type! Find the one that makes you feel good about yourself and best compliments your body.

7. Eat well. When we fill our bodies with overly processed garbage the body doesn't function the way it should. When you eat right you will have far more energy and motivation. So when you go through the lunch line think  of it as filling your body up with clean fuel instead of yucky fuel that will by 5:00 leave you feeling ultra groggy and unmotivated. I always notice this especially when I eat Chinese food. The day after indulging, I always have a super hard time getting in a good workout! That just goes to show how much our diet affects our motivation!


8. Sometimes I get discouraged when life gets so busy that I don't have time to get to the gym for a few consecutive days. Day after day that goes by, and I start to feel less and less motivated. Instead of getting down about it figure out ways to incorporate short exercise sessions into your day. We always have 5 minutes here 5 minutes there, instead of checking facebook do 5 minutes of mountain climbers or jumping jacks. 5 minutes here 5 minutes there a day can add up! 6, 5 minute sessions and you've got a full 30 minute workout in! 

9. Reward yourself. Plan a reward. Figure out  your weight loss or fitness goal and once you reach it, treat yourself! Maybe its a new date dress? A new pair of a shoes? Perhaps put away a dollar or even just 50 cents in a jar every time you hit the gym, to save up for that certain item. Then after a few months go by you'll have likely reached your goals and you'll have the money to reward yourself for your success!

10. A special event. If you have a special event on the horizon that can make for a major motivator! I don't know if there is any better motivation for a woman to get fit than a wedding dress.  If you don't for see any special events on the horizon, plan one! It could be as simple as a special birthday dinner with friends, a friends wedding or a weekend trip! This helps by giving you a deadline. Deadlines will force you to want to work harder to meet them!



I wish you good luck! Stay motivated! Always remember you decide how you will be 6 months from now...you will either be 6 months ahead or another 6 months behind! The choice is ALL yours! ;) <3

Unhealthy "health foods"

Being a health/fitness junky,  I council quite a few women on their eating habits. It's usually a very frustrated woman who will message me saying,"IM EATING HEALTHY, why aren't the pounds falling off?"
 I usually start out by asking them to tell me what they are consuming on a daily basis. This is where I i zero in on the problem----
We have fallen victim to "health food" marketing ploys. All this health food that we are being sold, is NOT healthy! So many things that are advertised as healthy are so processed and sugar ridden that they are absolutely horrible for us! Yet we feel good about eating it because the packaging tells us its 'healthy' so in our minds we feel like we're doing the right thing, but our bodies certainly know the difference between health food and health fake!

Here are a few of the most  common ones I hear:

Yogurt 

Not all yogurt is bad, but even weight watchers yogurt can be filled with sugar and artificial sweeteners. I could write an entire blog post about why you shouldn't eat artificial sweeteners but I'll have to save that for another day. To make it short, these sweeteners have been linked to cancer, birth defects,infertility and other ailments. So, even though artificial sweeteners make the yogurt fat or calorie free, it does not make it healthy. Even Weight Watchers yogurt packs in loads of added sugar artificial sweeteners and preservatives. Now, heres the good news! Not all yogurt is off limits! Greek yogurt is wonderful! Just beware of flavored greek yogurt. The fruit that you find at the bottom of greek yogurt from the store is usually saturated in sugar. Instead opt for plain greek yogurt and cut up your own fruit add a little honey and you'll be good to go!

Granola bars

While we've always thought of granola bars as a healthier choice, no matter what kind you choose wether its fruit, chocolate chip, almond, coconut or any other variety they are almost always packed with high amounts of sugar and very low in nutrients and high in calories. Its practically impossible to find granola bars sold in stores that are not loaded up with carbs! Instead opt for making your own! I like this recipe. 

1 1/2 c. rolled oats, Not the quick kind
1/4 c. natural oat bran
1/4 c. almonds finely chopped
2 tbs vegetable oil
1/3 c. natural honey
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Pre heat oven to 350 F
Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray. In large bowl mix all the dry ingredients. In small bowl mix wet ingredients. Combine the two.Mix very well until all the oats are covered in the honey mixture. Wet your hands and press the mixture into a 9" / 7" rectangle. Place in oven and bake for  ten minutes.Remove from oven and immediately cut into 12 bars. Separate them a bit and return to oven for five minutes. Cool on wire rack and store in air tight container.

If you add raisins (1/4 c.) soak them in water for five minute first to allow them to plump up.

Makes 12 bars.

Fruit Juice

I dont know who started telling us fruit juice was healthy, but boy were they wrong! We may as well be drinking soda with all the sugar that is added to bottled fruit juices. Believe it or not fruit juice has on average 2.5 times more sugar than the actual fruit! Stay away from it. Your body will thank you!

Sub sandwiches 

I always try to opt for Subway over McDonalds but you might be surprised how many calories can be hidden in a seemingly healthy sub! A 6 inch Tuna sandwich from subway contains 530 calories 30 grams of fat (6 grams unsaturated fat) and 46 grams of carbs! Thats before you add in all the toppings, mayo, lettuce, tomato, onions whatever else! YIKES! The other thing to watch out for in sub sandwiches is the sodium content. Lunch meat and cheese have a high sodium content which can cause high blood pressure and water retention.Which makes us feel puffy. Instead of devouring 530 calories and 46 carbs in 10 minute, try making your own healthy version of a subway sandwich like, turkey breast in a wheat wrap with lettuce and tomato and cottage cheese, or your best option at subway is veggie delight on 9 grain wheat with all the veggies your heat desires and a little vinegar or mustard! 

Oatmeal

Oatmeal can be a excellent source of heart healthy whole grains!...That is if you make it yourself! Packaged oatmeal is chalk full of sugar! However if you make your own you can ward off all the extra sugar and calories and it becomes a great healthy (and quick) option! I make a big batch of steal cut oatmeal (about 6 servings) on Sunday night then just scoop out a serving every morning. Add my own fruit, cinnamon, Truvia (natural sugar substitute) or honey and it tastes every bit as good as the packaged kind and sans the sugar :)

Frozen "diet meals" Weight watchers, Lean cuisine etc.

To start out there is definitely no denying that even though they boast "no preservatives" they still contain lots of chemical additives (just read the ingredients list) These instant frozen diet varieties generally do have lower calories and sodium than other types of instant meals, but the problem is they tend to lack the nutrition that you should be getting out of a well rounded nutritious meal. A good healthy meal will leave you satisfied until the next meal. Lean cuisine type meals are filled with empty calories that  will leave you famished shortly after you've consumed one. This will cause you to eat more...which means----yep! You guessed it. Weight gain! Diet food will make you gain weight...what a concept!

Slim fast/diet shakes.

I won't waste your time on this one.--- Sugar. All sugar. Do your research. I love Atkins meal shakes for a quick ont he go meal! Low in sugar high in protein! Win win!

Diet Soda

While diet soda is free of calories, it is certainly not free of consequence!  The artificial sweetners found in diet soda have been linked to increasing appetite. A recent study at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, conducted a study on a  group of 474 diet soda drinkers for almost 10 years. It was discovered that the diet soda drinkers who consumed 1-2 cans a day  over a span of  10 years had their waistlines grow 70% more than non soda drinkers. Instead of diet soda I like to substitute with flavored (but unsweetened) La Croix sparkling water. It still has the refreshing fizzy taste but no calories, sweeteners, or sugar. 

Trail Mix

This one can really sabotage your weight loss plan! While it sounds healthy and its packaging usually depicts fit outdoorsy people hiking and biking around and doing all sorts of healthy things, its not a snack you want to indulge in if you are trying to lose weight! Trail mix was designed for just that---TRAILS. Trail mix is high in fat, calories and sugar...and for good reason considering its designated purpose: (to give you sustained energy for long outdoor excursions). It was specifically designed for  outdoor athletes ( people trekking long distances and burning a significant amount of calories through out the day. It's a great snack if you are planning on doing something along the lines of a lengthy bike trip, climb or hike, (activities where you plan on burning more calories than your average day.)  Trail mix is quick and easy to take in a backpack, which is what makes it ideal for outdoor athletes. However for folks trying to lose weight, its just plain bad news! Stay clear!

The bottom line is this: Eat healthy. Eat clean. Limit sugar.

Clean means: Fruit, vegetables, lean meat (like chicken and turkey.) Eggs, whole grains like (brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread) Stay away from processed food. I believe whole heartedly the reason we have seen so many Cancer cases, disease and obesity problems in so many young people in our generation, is because we've become a generation who's constantly fed fake processed food in our attempt to be 'healthy'.  Our bodies weren't intended to tolerate that garbage! If you eat wholesome, nutrient rich food, your body will take care of itself. Your weight will take care of itself! Don't be fooled! Read labels! Remember. Its not all about fat content...not all fat will make you fat. There is such thing as healthy fat!  Polyunsaturated fat, and monounsaturated fat are good! They are the fats that make our hair shiny and our skin supple. Don't be afraid of that F(at) word! Sugar, carbs, trans and saturated fats are the ones we need to look out for! That being said, 'low fat' foods won't necessarily be what will help us reach our weight loss goals!  Read labels. Decide for yourself what is healthy. Don't fall victim to sneaky marketing schemes! I've shared what to look out for and what to avoid! The ball is in your court. You control what goes into your body! Don't be fooled! You are only allowed one body in this lifetime. Take good care of it! Do whats right. Make changes before its too late! <3 :)

Simple reasons why you are not losing weight.

Reasons you may be sabotaging your diet and not even know it!

1."The Drinker"  Drinking your calories! This was a big one for me, I had no idea how fast the calories can add up JUST by having a coffee drink in the morning. A LOW FAT coffee drink at that! I used to drink those Starbucks  drinks in the glass bottle----SO BAD FOR ME! I stopped drinking those and lost weight simply from cutting those out! This goes for soft drinks and diet soft drinks also! If you are a big soda drinker or even fruit juice drinker those are diet crashers! Throw em out! ;) You will thank me.

2. "The Snacker" You may even be a healthy snacker, but over snacking will cause you to put on the pounds! We rarely think about it but even healthy choices have calories, and over doing it can leave its impact. Remember even bananas can pack 180 calories! Same goes for a handful of almonds which equal out to 80-100 calories per serving. Now these things are great for our bodies, IN MODERATION! But snacking on almonds all day long like they are "freebees" will leave us discouraged! What to do if you body is hungry between meals? First assess, am I hungry? Or am i bored? A lot of times you may find it to be "boredom induced hunger." When this happens find something to get your mind off of it, take a walk, read a book, write an email, whatever it takes!  When you find that your body truly is hungry between meals, have a snack! Make it a healthy one and follow the serving size if you are still hungry after one healthy snack drink water! Many times we confuse hunger with thirst! A snack and a nice tall glass of water should hold you over until the next meal!

3. "The Human Garbage Disposal" This one is probably most prominent in wives and mothers. As a wife I have often times found myself eating practically an entire meal as I am preparing my husbands meal and THEN sitting down and eating a full meal WITH him! So basically I've eaten practically 2 meals (double the calories) without even thinking about it! A little taste here and a little taste there before the meal while cooking for your family can really add up! Another culprit is leftovers off the children's plates! That one last chicken nugget needs to go in the trash not on your waistline! It seems like a innocent chicken nugget but those bad boys----55 calories each! WOW

4. "The Night Owl" When you allow yourself less that 6 hours of sleep your body produces an excess amount of ghrelin which is a hormone that stimulates appetite particularly for high carb high cal foods. In addition to excess ghrelin running through your body lack of sleep will also raise your cortisol (stress hormone) levels. Stress= weight gain. Do yourself a favor and treat your body to some sleep! A well rested body is one of life's most inexpensive pleasures :)

5. "The Bird" Many women get so fed up with trying to lose weight that they resort to starving themselves. THIS IS NOT THE ANSWER! While this may work for a time it will not last forever. You can not survive on a few saltines and banana a day for any length of time. Eventually your hair will start to fall out, you'll have no energy, you will begin to look gaunt and skeleton like and  you will get so frustrated and hungry and straight up tired of it and end thus end up going straight back to your old ways and by this time your body will have gone into starvation mode and will then hang on to every calorie you put into your mouth. Which will then backfire and cause you to gain even more weight than before. Sound like fun? Didn't think so. Instead do the right thing. Give your body what it needs keep it active and you will soon find your body shaping into the physique you desire. There are very few people who find sickly attractive...sickly may seem simpler and perhaps faster to achieve (starve yourself get skinny) But to really get what you want (a shapely attractive figure) you must work hard and eat right. Nothing good comes for free! Slow and steady will win the race. 

6. "The Breakfast Refuser" Many people seem to be under the impression that if they don't eat breakfast they are cutting out a meal and thus "cutting calories" and will lose weight. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Think of breakfast as gasoline to rev up your metabolism. When our bodies do not get the proper nutrition to jump start them in the morning we can't expect our bodies to function at their fullest potential through out the day! Do yourself a favor and get your day off on the right foot! Don't have time? Do what I do, make a large batch of oatmeal sunday night and keep it in the fridge all week and just scoop out a portion size each morning. Add fruit and cinnamon WA-LA! Healthy breakfast in a hurry!

7. "The Late Nighter." Snacking or meals after 7 is a big one. Consuming calories before sleeping for 5-10 hours is a killer! During these hours your body is sedentary and thus not able to burn calories the way it does during the day. People for some reason are under the impression if they are going to have a large meal or treat have it at/after dinner! I tend to disagree. If you are going to treat yourself to a larger meal or dessert or a treat ( which you should every so often) If you can do it earlier during the day so that your body will have time to burn those calories consumed. You are burning calories even if you are not "working out" simple everyday life burns calories, but you burn at a significantly slower rate while sleeping.

8. "The Gym Rat." This one is a big one for me. Sometimes we get into the habit of over estimating calories burned at the gym. We figure "I worked hard I deserve X, X and X!" NO!  You are not a dog. Do not reward yourself with food! Spending an hour and a half at the gym and then stopping at Mc D's for dinner means you just ate all those hard calories burned! While spending time at the gym burns a lot of calories be careful not to over compensate with food! 

silvery cat eye.

Alright, a few months ago I posted a photo and had a bunch of comments asking if I could help them re create this eye look. Its really simple and its sort of my "go to" eye makeup look. Now having a darker skin tone and  features i can usually wear darker eye makeup without looking like I'm going to prom. If you have lighter features you may want to save this look for a special occasion because black tends to look a lot more dramatic on lighter features! Or else use maybe a brown instead of black :)

Here's what you'll need!

1. I always start of with a shadow primer all over the lid...A favorite of mine is Lemon aid by benefit. This will help your eye makeup stay in place and not crease and slip off and will also give you truer color. (I get mine from Sephora.com) If you don't have an eye shadow primer, I highly recommend getting one but if not concealer is your next best bet for staying power!

2.The palate that I use is Color design palate in "Glamour Era" By Lancome. I like this palate because it has all the colors you need in one little compact and they don't irritate my eyes. However it does run a little pricey so feel free to match these colors with Revlon or Cover girl colors. They will work for this look just as well!

3. My favorite eye shadow brush is the small Sonja Kashuk brush you can purchase at Target. It makes blending so much easier than those crappy little sponge brushes that come with your eye shadow!

Now for the good stuff!

1. I start out by mixing the silver and white color on my brush...just a little dab into both colors so they sort of mix together into a whiter version of silver. I put this mixture onto the inner corners of my eyes around my tear duct and then below so it sort of sweeps out on about 1/3 of my lower lash just a little bit as you can see in the picture

2. Next I use the medium gray shade for the middle of the lid...I start where the silvery white ended and begin with the grayish color...all over the middle of my eyelid but not reaching all the way to the outside corner of my eye. Blend this with the edges of the white so it appears to be coming gradually darker.

3. Next I use the black for the outer corners. This is where you can get a little dramatic. If I'm going out with my husband at night I might go a little more dramatic on this step. For daytime i might use a little less. But at night I love to spice it up with a slight cat eye/winged liner look with my shadow...to do this so that it always looks symmetrical take your shadow brush and draw a small line straight vertical from the outer corner of your eye then draw another line that slants back down bringing it back down into the crease so that it forms a perfect winged effect. Last I sweep a little of the black on the outer corner on my bottom lash line. 

4. Last I finish with a liquid eyeliner along the lash line a little black pencil on my waterline and mascara! DONE! :)

What to do when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Or are having a "fat" day.

We all have them. Every once in a while we just have a day....Maybe something goes wrong or maybe we just wake up in a funk...."On the wrong side of the bed."--As my mother says. For whatever reason we just don't feel ourselves we feel abnormally sluggish/ugly/fat/pale/dorky/stressed out....whatever. and it can be hard to shake it off. Alas here are a few things I do when I have a day that really seem to help me. Hopefully it will help someone else too!


First off! PRAY. Spend time with God. Sometimes when we are off track spiritually everything else gets off kilter. And we feel a little funky.

Wake up in the morning and right away turn on some fun energizing music. I love to listen to Bob Marley while getting ready in the morning. It makes me happy. Reminds me of Vacation and just has a nice "Don't worry be happy" vibe to it, that makes it a great start to a morning! :) If I'm not in the mood for that and I'm having an ugly day i turn on some Latin/salsa music. It has a way of making you feel sexy. I don't know why. it just does :)

Brew a strong cup a' Joe. This will help boost anyone's mood.  Drink it out of a big over sized mug...for some reason it tastes better that way :-)

What I do when I wake up feeling like an ogre? Get my eyebrows waxed....try it. Seriously. You'll feel so much prettier!

Go out and buy a new scarf. They are usually pretty inexpensive and can transform an outfit! WA LA! New outfit!

Do something that focuses on others. Getting our minds off ourselves almost always helps us out of a funk. Maybe its a simple as bringing a friend a coffee at work? Making someone else's day almost always helps turn ours around.

Pick out a bold colored lipstick. A shade you might not normally wear and wear it with confidence. It'll transform your look for a day. Its fun to look different than our every old day sometimes :).

Pick up some Vitamin B. Vitamin B's help to naturally boost our mood!

Light some candles and curl up with a good book. Make some cocoa and feel cozy. Sometimes we need a "cozy day" Nothing wrong with that!

Drink Water. I think i mention this in almost every post...but here we go again. If you're feeling a bit chubbier than usual you are probably dehydrated so your body seems puffy. Drink some water. You'll feel better in no time!

Hit the gym. You are only one workout away from a good mood! Even though you may not feel like it, force yourself to do something active. This boosts your bodies endorphines which boost your mood! 90% of the time you'll feel 100% better after a workout.

Take up a new hobby. Painting is one hobby that I love to do because it's so relaxing and gets our mind off whatever it is that is bothering us.

Haagen Daaz Caramel Cone Ice cream. Enough said.

Grab a pen and paper--first right down everything thats bothering you...get it out on paper..throw it all up..when you finish rip it up and throw it in the trash. Phewf. Glad thats over! Now grab a new sheet and write down all the things you are thankful for. Smile and Thank God for them. Life isn't so bad now is it?

Pinterest.com....look up a new hairstyle, find a cute new style to re create, discover a new recipe to try...the possibilities are endless!

Use a little aroma therapy. Citrus has been known to have mood boosting benefits. Boil some orange peel, cinnamon sticks and lemon peels in a pot on the stove. The wafting scent of citrus is sure to be a good pick me up!

Plan a vacation. Give yourself something to look forward to! Maybe its only a day trip...a little road trip or even and stay cation with a friend! Just something that you can plan and look forward to!

Rent a funny feel good flick. A few recommendations? Mrs. Doubtfire, Tommy Boy, My Big Fat Greek wedding  just to name a few favorites that always seem to put me in a good mood!



So there you have it! Hope this helps make your day a little better than a day on the wrong side of the bed ;)

Learning to love the skin your in.

So I have recently come to a conclusion. I think one of the reasons so many women get fed up with diets and exercise is the simple fact that they are trying to achieve the "wrong" perfection...let me explain.

If I were spend my whole life, day and night eating like a bird and exercising like a monster I would never in a million years have Kiera Knightly's figure. I just wouldn't! Its not genetically possible! And on the flip side Kiera Knightly couldn't achieve an hour glass figure if she wanted to! 


     Kiera Knightly's body type is 100% different than Mine. And honestly that's 100% okay! No body type is "better" or  "more attractive" than the other. So basically I could spend all my time in the gym trying to become rail thin like Kiera with no boobs so I could wear those cute plunging neck lines...but why? For what? Why not embrace the body God gave me!? Instead of beating ourselves up trying to be who we're not, we should start to trying to achieve OUR physically best body. Nobody Elses. 


So here's what we need to do...Instead of hanging up a picture of a woman on the inside of our refrigerator who's body is completely genetically different than ours which in turn after a few months of killing ourselves to be thin like them or curvy like the them (whatever this particular perfection we are trying to achieve is) Instead, why not find someone who shares your body type and is more realistic for us and our genetic makeup. The truth is, every body type is sexy. A woman who loves her body because its strong and healthy is beautiful no matter her size/shape/weight or proportion. Here's some tips on finding fitness motivation for YOUR body type. :-)

There are a few basic types I want to share. I just found a few woman to represent fitness in each body type and hopefully these women may help inspire you to strive a fitter version of the your body.  Its very clear all these women in all these shapes and sizes are beautiful. Now. Decide which one is most like you and work for it! With hard work and dedication you can achieve it! 

Body type A. Naturally thin/Petite: These are women with naturally low body fat, features are small and petite with minimal curves and not large amounts of muscle. If that's you I have chosen Kiera Knightly as your fitness role model. With a little healthy eating exercise and you are on your way to a Kiera Knightly Physique!

Body Type B. The Hourglass Shape: This one is pretty self explanatory. Women with this body type are wider at the bust and hips and typically have a narrower waist. I've chosen Kim Kardsahian as your inspiration. Work hard and your body has the potential to look like this! 

Body Type C. Athletic Shape: You naturally have good muscle definition. Its easy for you to build muscle. You were blessed with naturally Strong arms and legs. Usually women who fall into this category have a bit straighter silhouette with some lean muscular curve.  If this sounds like you I have chosen Jillian Michael's as your body inspiration!

Body type D. Plus Size: Extra curvaceous women. There is a common misconception among women today, which tells us that skinny women are healthy and fit, and plus size women are not. This can be so misleading! A plus size woman can be 50X more fit than a naturally thin woman. I chose H&M's model Tara-Lynn as your fitness inspiration. She is so gorgeous and curvy, and she works it! Embrace it. 

Body Type E. Curvy Shape: Lots of Vavavoom!  Feminine curves from head to toe! Curvy women typically have a larger bust, with a curvaceous hips and torso. Similar to the Hour glass but wider at the waist. I've chosen Marilyn as your inspiration.

I hope these women I've chosen help inspire you to work hard and LOVE your body. As it has been made clear, each body type is different unique and undoubtedly beautiful! Don't kill yourself trying to turn yourself into someone else. Embrace what you have! Post pictures around the house of these women use them and inspiration to get fit! 

How to prepare for a special occasion last minute!

Maybe its a wedding, a vacation, an anniversary, homecoming or a first date. Our lives are full of special occasions! Unfortunately these special occasions are sometimes sprung on us, leaving us no time to prepare! So there we are left with no time to get the split ends cut, nails done,  spend those few extra minutes in the gym OR get that break out cleared up. Ahh,  FEAR NOT! Here's the solution.




1. HAIR No time to get those spit ends cut! You go to the hairdresser that you go to because shes good, and good usually means busy and booked! Okay we must resort to Plan B: a hot oil treatment! It will leave your locks healthy shiny and soft and split ends practically diminished! I like to use Vo5 brand. It runs about $5.00 at any drugstore and perks up dull locks in a snap!

2. NAILS Who has time to sit and wait for that lady ahead of you getting her acrylics redone who is seemingly besties with the nail artist and sharing her life's story and every small detail of it. Not you! No worries! These things are seriously awesome! They look just as professional, shiny, perfect and last just as long as a spa manicure! They run about 10 dollars which is still less than a spa manicure! Application is simple and takes about 10-15 minutes. Best of all they come in tons of shades and some crazy designs! They last about a week give or take. One thing I discovered is they sometimes end up crackling after a few days. To prevent this just paint a clear coat over them, for some reason this helps resist crackling.

3. SKIN
There are a few different scenarios that could wreak havoc on a special event. Perhaps you have a breakout out of no where! A big red break out! What to do? Crush up an Aspirin! Aspirin is high in beta hydroxy acid- a form of salicylic acid--which is what you will see almost all acne products. If you have time leave this on your face until you have to put makeup on, if you are shorter on time, use 4 dissolved aspirins as a mask for 10-15 minutes and rinse. Now...still a little red? No problem. reach for the eye drops. Eye drops formulated for helping reduce red eyes work to constrict blood vessels. This will have the same effect on a blemish! ;) Perhaps your skin is irritated or sun burned before your event? your solution? Milk! Milk has calming effects on the skin. Whole milk is best but any milk will work to calm irritation. Soak a washcloth in cool milk and just lay it on the skin for 10-15 minutes. Instant calm!

4. BODY Normally you may have planned for a special event by spending a little extra time in the gym. If not there are a few little tricks to help you look a little more toned in just a few minutes! Push ups. Push ups are great because you can do them anywhere and you don't need any equipment. This will help your arm muscles to contract so that they feel tighter and more fit. Sit ups are also good! After a good set of sit ups I always feel better! If you have time go for a quick 20 minute run. If anything this will just boost your mood and make you feel more energetic and fit! Last but not least drink lots of water! Drinking water helps flush out all that extra water weight! If you are dehydrated you may look or feel bloated. So ward off bloat by drinking lots  and lots of water!