NEW 2017 Erin Condren Lifestyle Planner

Yesterday, my NEW 2017 Erin Condren LifePlanner arrived and I am so excited!!  I've always had a strange love for stationary & these planners are just filled with bright colors and happiness! 

I picked the 18 month option so I could start using it right away!  Along with my regular meetings and appointments, I'll also use my planner to keep track of my fitness journey... weight, exercise, and half marathon training!

I can't get enough of the fun colors on each page and all the additional accessories (stickers!) that came with my purchase. 

This is the vertical option, which breaks the day into three parts.  It allows for a bit of flexibility instead of scheduling what I'll be doing each hour of the day.  Good thing this planner looks so sturdy because I have a feeling it will be well-loved during the next year and a half!

Do you use a planner to organize your day?

Tea Cleanse!

For the next 21 days, I'll be drinking A LOT of tea!   I've read that herbs like lemongrass and dandelion can be used as part of a detox cleanse.  While I don't intend to do a full cleanse, I do want to see if there are any noticeable benefits to significantly increasing the amount of tea consumed. 

I'm very lucky that my work provides tea for free, so I essentially have an unlimited supply.   I plan to drink 6 cups of herbal tea each day for the next 21 days!

What is your favorite type of tea?

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!

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.

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!

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