June Food Challenge

Katie from Runs for Cookies posted this great idea for a June Food Challenge.  Check out her post here.  She decided to focus on cleaning out her pantry by not grocery shopping for a whole month!  There are a few exceptions of course such as: milk, eggs, and fresh produce.  

My husband and I thought we could try this too!  We have a TON of food to get through especially since we are remodeling our kitchen and reducing the storage space we have.  We'll probably go on one last food run to stock up on some protein, but after that no more cookies, crackers, chips, pasta, bread, cereal, etc etc etc!

Thank goodness there are so many seasonal fruits and veggies that we can use to substitute!

($5 bag of cherries from Whole Foods)

What's your favorite Summer fruit or vegetable?

Tone It Up Haul

My Tone It Up order just arrived and I am so excited!! This is my first order from the Toneitup website and I am thrilled with everything I've tried so far.

I've had my current (Gaiam) yoga mat since December 2009, which I purchased for $21.  As much as I love that mat, it is definitely time for a new one.  My new TIU yoga mat is SO much better too! It is a beautiful color (light blue/turquoise on one side and pink on the other) and has a lot of cushion.  Couldn't be happier!!

I also picked up a foam roller so my husband and I can release tightness in our muscles at home.  It's nice to have one just to ourselves because the ones at the gym sort of gross me out if I start thinking about how many countless sweaty individuals have rolled on them. Blech!  

	Limited Edition Perfect Fit Vanilla Latte Quantity: 1 Total: $26.00
	Yoga Mat Quantity: 1 Total: $35.00
	Foam Roller Quantity: 1 Total: $18.00
	Starfish Hug Ring - Silver Quantity: 1 Total: $11.99
	Tone It Up 8 Week Journal Quantity: 1 Total: $14.99
	Tone It Up Socks - 3 Color Quantity: 1 Total: $10.00

I'm actually most excited for the TIU 8 week journal, which will be a great way to track my exercise and diet this Summer!

The starfish ring is for my best friend who LOVES the beach and the ocean.  I may put it in a little mason jar filled with goodies for her next beach camping adventure!  I could put in a little sunblock, lip balm, and sea shells.

I have yet to try the TIU protein powder and to be honest, I'm not quite sure how I feel yet about protein shakes.  I had no idea which flavor to pick, but I'm obsessed with vanilla lattes so hoping this protein powder flavor is pretty good.  

What's your favorite protein powder flavor?

Weekly Weigh In - Week #1

This is my first weekly weigh in!  

My starting weight was about 20 lbs over my goal weight.  My plan was to lose the first 5 lbs by reducing the amount of junk food I eat.  

If I'm totally honest, I've had a "cheat meal" more often than I'd like to admit.  Here is a list of the unhealthy foods I've had:

• Pepperoni Pizza + Soda
• Biscotti + Brownie Brittle
• Red Robin Banzai Burger
• Sweet Potato Fries
• Steak Fries
• Red Robin Cookie Magic Shake
• Starbucks Iced Caramel Macchiato
• Thai Iced Tea Boba + Pearl Milk Tea Boba
• Happy Hour - Strawberry Daiquiri + other drinks 

And that's just what I can remember!!  Despite all this, I am now 17 lbs away from my goal weight!  

I'm attributing the weight loss to the amount of walking I've been doing recently.  I started using fitbit to track my steps and it has really helped motivate me to move more!

Here's my fitbit summary for the week as of this Thursday morning:

This upcoming week is going to be tough with Memorial Day weekend, but I'm going to try to be a bit healthier!  At least I'll try to avoid the free soda in the cafeteria!!

DietBet

This isn't sponsored, it's just something I'm trying out.

I found a site called Dietbet.com a few weeks ago that I have been loving so far.  There are a bunch of games to join and thousands of players all trying to lose weight!

What I did was join a "game" which goes from May 09 - Jun 05.  I bet $30 that I could lose 4% of my body weight during this time.  A bunch of other people make the same wager and the bets are collected in a "pot."  Last time I checked, the pot of the game I'm playing was close to $300,000!

At the beginning of the game, I took a picture of myself on a scale and submitted it to Dietbet.  After it was verified, I had an official starting weight.  Now all I have to do is weigh in June 5th and be down 4%!!  I love a good challenge so this site is right up my alley.  Along the way, you encourage others to reach their goal to lose 4% too.  In the end, those who are able to hit their target weight will split the pot!  So you can actually make money by losing weight!

(Dress: Express; Shoes: Tory Burch; Scarf: Daily Look)

I now have about 2 weeks left before the final weigh in!  I'm already down about 3 lbs despite my diet (pizza at work, happy hour food and drinks, team lunch at Red Robin... burger, fries, & oreo milkshake!).  Imagine where I could be if I were eating healthy!

Love With Food - May 2016

Around Black Friday 2015, I saw an ad for Love with Food and decided to sign up!  Love with Food is a subscription box that delivers organic and all-natural snacks each month. 

I was browsing the web for a unique Christmas gift for my mom (who can't have gluten because she has celiac disease).  Love with Food offers a snack box that is completely gluten free!  After signing my mom up, I decided to purchase the regular snack box for myself.  I absolutely love the charitable aspect of the company too.  For each box sold, Love with Food gives a meal to help fight hunger in America.  Over a million meals have been donated already!

I paid $81.50 for December 2015-November 2016 for the "tasting box," which so far I have really enjoyed! 

Here's what I received in my May 2016 Box:

• I was surprised the Smarty Pants gummy vitamins tasted as good as they did, but the package said you should eat 6 of them a day!  Seems like a lot of candy to eat each day vs. taking a single vitamin tablet.
• I nice surprise was the GLEE gum pop.  I didn't think I would care for it, but I actually really enjoyed the Green Apple flavor that was in this month's box.  Unfortunately, there is a bit of terrible gum in the middle of the sucker.  If it hadn't been for the gum, the candy would have been perfect. 
• I didn't care for the bag of Skinny Pop popcorn dusted with dark chocolate.  While I appreciate that there were only 70 calories in this snack, I think I prefer my popcorn to be chocolate free (just a personal preferences). 
• I also wasn't a big fan of the Chickpea Snack in Rockin Ranch.  They reminded me of Ranch flavor Corn Nuts so if you like those, you'll probably like these chickpea snacks.

• I took the Surf Sweets Jelly Beans to work for someone else to have since I've never really liked Jelly Beans. I may do the same with the Smooze Coconut and Pint Guava Fruit Ice.  It looks like it might be a nice Summer treat for a child, but I don't think I'll enjoy it very much.  The Emily's Trail Mix also looks like a good afternoon snack for one of my co-workers.
• The Kutoa Peanut Butter and Jelly looks dense & similar to a clif bar.  It's the perfect size to put in my purse and eat when I'm on the go.  I like that it has chia seed, flax seed, and 6g of protein!  Also, the company has partnered with the World Food Program USA so that every bar purchased helps feed a child in need.
• My favorite snack was the Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle.  These are small, crunchy chocolate cookies that definitely satisfied my sweet tooth.  Each bag only has 120 calories so I didn't feel too bad about munching on the sweet treats.  There was a coupon in the box for 20% off their website, which I may just use.  If you're interested, the code was LOVE4BB.

• The box also came with numerous coupons and even a sample of the Simple Micellar water.  I've actually heard a lot of good things about this product so I'm excited to try it out!

I also saw Love with Food was featured on Groupon, if you'd like to try it out at a discounted price!

*This is not a sponsored post.

Weight Loss Goals

110 = The magical number I hope to one day see on my scale!  I'm very goal-oriented.  There's just something ridiculously gratifying about checking off a task and saying, "I DID IT!" 

To achieve this goal, I'm breaking it into several stages (in increments of 5 lbs each):

1. The Beginning
2. Step It Up
3. The Tough Part
4. Those Last Five Pounds

The Beginning (Lose 5 lbs):

I imagine this part will be the easiest.  It'll involve eating slightly less pizza than I do today & having more fruits and vegetables.

Step It Up (Lose 5 lbs more):

This will probably mean a few trips to the gym and some HIIT!

The Tough Part (Another 5lbs!):
Not sure yet... P90X? A half marathon training schedule?

Those Last Five Pounds (Last 5lbs):
In the past, this has usually meant cutting something out of my diet... like dairy or meat.  Something I'm not quite willing to do today.  Thankfully, there is quite a bit of time until I reach this stage.

Nordstrom Rack and Hautelook Haul

Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack are some of my favorite stores!  Dangerously, I downloaded the app and can now shop online using my phone.  As you can imagine, this results in lots of purchases!  Here is my latest online purchase from Nordstrom Rack and Hautelook:

What Worked:

Big Star

Kate Straight Leg Jean

Color: Santa Fe , Size: 26

$49.98 (Original Price: $136)

These are actually a bit too big for me, but they are 92% cotton so I'm hoping they will shrink in the wash.  I also need to get them hemmed, which I can do in store.  Here is a list of prices.

Ellen Tracy

Drape Knit Shell

Color: LAPIS , Size: S

$14.85 (Original Price: $49.50)

This is a good shirt for work.  It's really comfortable and a great price!

echo

'Twisted' Head Wrap

Color: SNOW-WHITE , Size: OS           

$4.20 (Original Price: $28)      

This is meant to be worn outside to protect your ears from the cold, but I thought it would be a good head wrap to keep my hair out of the way when I'm getting ready.

Blush

Infatuation Camisole

Color: Strawberry Mousse , Size: M

$14.80 (Original Price: $74)

This is so soft and so cute!  Perfect for a hot Summer night.

Free Press

Seamless Cami

Color: NAVY PATRIOT , Size: M

$5.99 (Original Price: $9.97)

Love it!  Comfortable fabric and a great fit!  I will be wearing this a TON this Summer!

Free Press

Faux Shearling Pom Pom Slippers

Color: GREY , Size: S           

$3.89 (Original Price: $12.97)

Can't argue with the price and I love a good deal!  These are actually super soft and really cute!

What Didn't Work:

                           

   

Z By Zella

Star Studded Seamless Reversible Bra

Color: PURPLE BEAUTY , Size: S

$11.22 (Original Price: $16.97)

I'm going to have to return because it is itty bitty and may have fit me when I was 10 years old.

Honeydew Intimates

'All American' Robe

Color: SOMETHING BLUE STRIPE , Size: S           

$14.97 (Original Price: $42)

I've been looking for a good Summer robe and this one is lightweight, soft, and one of my favorite colors!  Unfortunately, since there was only a picture of the front, I didn't realize that it says "bridesmaid" on the back!  Otherwise, this robe would have been perfect!

Shipping for my order took 5 days and it was FREE!  For what didn't work, I can go to any Nordstrom Rack and easily return the items. I've made several returns in the past and aside from having to stand in a very long line, it's relatively hassle free.  The amount goes right back on my credit card and a receipt is emailed to confirm the return.

Fitbit Goal Day - May 21st

In an attempt to get serious about fitness, I purchased a fitbit!  Too bad purchase alone doesn't result in a beach body. 

I bought mine from Best Buy almost entirely with gift cards, so at least I didn't shell out a bunch of money... in case it ends up in a drawer in a couple of months.

This Saturday, fitbit is challenging their users to join in "Goal Day" where we'll all be competing with our friends to complete as many steps as possible in a single day!  I think I'll join!

Hello!

Hello!  Welcome to my blog!

I love reading blogs on beauty, lifestyle, health, fitness, and fashion.  Finally, I've decided to start writing my own! 

So, a little about me... I graduated from law school and started working in the tech industry in the Silicon Valley.  I recently discovered that my life revolves around work, and thought it would be a good idea to start a hobby.  Blogging about health, beauty, and fitness seemed like the perfect thing!

I confess that I've become a bit lazy and my commitment to fitness has waned considerably in the past 5 years, but now I want to get back on track!  Wish me luck!

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/14910995/?claim=m9uwtyaazuv">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>