Mixing Up Your Workout: Tips & Tricks

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I’ve talked a lot recently about eating healthy and watching my sugar intake, so today I want to talk a little about working out and staying fit. As a mommy with a full-time job, I will start by saying it is hard to find time to work out during the week. But, as I have mentioned before, my husband and I are working hard to carve out time to exercise and support each other. I can’t say enough great things about my hubby – there have been several times in the past month he’s offered to entertain the girls so I can go for a quick bike ride or do a workout online.

Speaking of online workouts, have you been using Pinterest to find ideas for exercising? I have and I am thrilled with the quantity and quality of the workouts I’ve found there. For example, I’ve recently been doing this crazy workout I call “The Hundreds.” All you need is 20 minutes and some good tunes to keep you pumped up. I always try to throw on my Tummy Tuck Belt before I workout too! For “The Hundreds” workout you do the following: 100 jumping jacks, 90 crunches, 80 squats, 70 leg lifts, 60 more jumping jacks, 50 crunches, 40 squats, 30 leg lifts, 20 more jumping jacks and run for 10 minutes. Crazy, right? I didn’t say it was easy and I definitely struggled with it for the first two weeks, but I can say that I feel better and I think I can tell a difference!

Have you tried any online workouts? Which ones do you like the best?

Spring is Almost Here! What are You Looking Forward To?

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If April showers bring May flowers, then what do March showers bring? In our house we are beyond ready for spring: enough with the cold, enough with the snow, and enough with the puffy jackets. I’m diagnosing these two girlies of mine with a serious case of cabin fever and the hubby and I are tired of spending all our weekends indoors.

What is your favorite part about spring? In four words, my favorite thing about the upcoming season is this: end of daylight savings. It is so nice to leave the dental office where I work and have a little sunlight left over on my drive home. Just those fifteen minutes in my car watching the sun set leave me refreshed and ready to spend some time with my wonderful family. My other favorite thing about spring is that it’s followed by summer. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I am actually ready for swimsuit season! Not only have I been eating healthy, which I have discussed here before, but my husband and I have been swimming laps at the local Y when we can and I’ve been using my Tummy Tuck Belt five days a week! No longer will I fear our family’s summer vacation, and thank goodness!

What are your favorite parts about spring?

Happy 2013! My New Year’s Resolutions are here!

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Hello readers and happy New Year! I am so sorry that I have been a bad blogger so far this month, but truthfully, the holidays really wore us out. Not to mention we all caught the flu last week and still aren’t feeling 100%. We’ll just say there has been a lot of family time and not much computer time around here. Even though I’m a little late, I do want to share some of my resolutions for 2013.

Live Healthier – This is a big one that my husband and I talked about a lot over the holidays and we were lying around feeling miserable last week. I’ve decided to start planning out our meals better, using more veggies and not keeping as many sweets in the house. Not only do we want to cook healthier meals for the entire family, but we’ve decided that it’s time to join a gym and commit to regular exercise. Personally, I want to recommit to my Tummy Tuck Belt and using it while when I am working out and at work or around the house. More than anything, we want to teach our daughters that it is important to take care of your body and live a healthy lifestyle all the time (not just for a couple months at the start of the year).

Be More Organized – Our little house is nearly overflowing now that we are a family of four. Not to mention that the girls acquired too many toys and playthings over the holidays! Since we are definitely staying in our house for several more years, I am committed to being better about tossing things we are no longer using and only keeping the necessities. Do the girls really need 20 Barbies a piece? Is there any reason I’m hanging on to clothes I wore in college? No and no. So off to the Salvation Army they go!

Getting Into The Christmas Spirit and Travel Tips

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The holidays are here! I absolutely love Christmas and if you walked in my house today you wouldn’t be surprised. It’s been a full-family effort to get it all decorated – from the Christmas trees to the wreath on the door, the candles in each window and the lights on the roof, I am so thankful to have a husband that loves Christmas as much as me. We got engaged on Christmas day so the holidays are extra special for us. Our daughter, Sarah, is finally old enough to get caught up in the holiday magic and it has been great to share some of our favorite traditions with her. We took her and Elizabeth to the mall on Saturday to get their picture taken with Santa and it turned out perfectly! My husband and I were both surprised with how well Elizabeth behaved – most young babies are terrified of Santa but Elizabeth just kept looking at him and grabbing his beard (sorry, Santa)!

Even though our house is all bedecked for the holidays, we will be doing a good bit of traveling next week – long car trips to visit my family as well as my husband’s parents. On the packing list: toys and games for the girls, lots of snacks, Christmas tunes, and my Tummy Tuck Belt. Why that last item? Well, I feel like traveling is a great time to use my belt since I’ll be in the car for many hours I can put it on before and after. Plus, with all the Christmas treats I plan to eat, it will come in handy!

Happy holidays to all my readers! Wishing you happy days and safe travels.

Learning to Curb Your Cravings

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Hello everyone! Can you believe it’s already November? The holidays are nearly upon us and I feel like it was just a few weeks ago I was writing about summer vacation and fresh produce! Our family had such a fun time last week celebrating Charlotte’s first Halloween – although Sarah just couldn’t understand why her little sister wasn’t excited about collecting (and eating) candy. I did my best to stay away from the sweets on Wednesday night after we circled the neighborhood, but I couldn’t say no to a candy apple! Sarah was dressed up as Belle, her favorite Disney princess, and Sarah was an adorable little bunny.

In my last post I talked about how hard it is sometimes to stay away from cravings – a difficult task when the holidays are filled with all kinds of delicious food. I did a little research online and found these tips for curbing your cravings:

  • Give in a little and treat yourself every once in a while.
  • If you slip up, don’t beat yourself up – just try to make the next several meals very, very healthy.
  • Drink plenty of water – sometimes you think you’re hungry when your body is really craving water.
  • Chew a piece of gum.
  • Eat on a regular schedule and don’t let yourself get too hungry – it’s easier to justify unhealthy food when you’re starving!

My top way to stop myself from overeating or sneaking chocolate out of the cabinet is to wear my Tummy Tuck Belt. When I am about to eat something unhealthy, I think about my Tummy Tuck Belt that I have on under my clothes and how I’m trying to lead a healthier lifestyle and lose weight and suddenly, I realize I don’t need that second donut. What is your best tip for curbing your cravings? Let me know!

As Halloween Approaches, The Sugary Temptations Never End

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Fall is finally here and we are really loving it! It’s so nice to have a reprieve from the sweltering summer heat and we’ve fallen back into our regular schedule. Sarah, our four-year-old is back in preschool five days a week and our nanny is just so great with the girls that I don’t feel as sad leaving them each morning to head to work.

What are some of your favorite things about fall? Sarah is already excited for Halloween and has been begging us to help her carve a pumpkin every time we go to the grocery store. Of course with Halloween comes all the delicious candy that I’m trying to avoid. Reese’s and Tootsie Rolls and caramel apples – oh my! While my Tummy Tuck Belt helps me appear slimmer just by wearing it, my goal is to also eat healthier. So while everyone else (i.e. my husband) is chowing down on sugary Halloween treats like my favorite, candy corn, I’ll be eating carrots. Hey, at least they’re orange! I’ve also been using Pinterest to find some healthy meals that the entire family can enjoy. Have any of our readers used Pinterest for meal planning? Let me know what your favorite healthy recipes are, I’m always ready to try something new!

 

 

Making the Best of Summer’s Healthy Produce

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As summer is winding down, I find myself wishing that summer vacation could be a reality after our school days are over. My husband and I both have flexible jobs that allow us to take a couple days off here and there to sneak out of town with the girls, but wouldn’t it be wonderful to have an entire summer to do whatever you want? Hey, a girl can dream!

One of my favorite things to do this summer was use the bountiful fruits and veggies I found at the local farmer’s market to make delicious, homemade meals for my family. I love to use produce when I’m cooking, whether it’s fresh zucchini or sweet raspberries. Overall, this summer has been really healthy: eating lots of produce, spending a lot of time outside and always remembering to wear my Tummy Tuck Belt.

One of my favorite treats recently has been ice cream – not just any ice cream though. Ice cream made by tossing a few frozen bananas into the food processor. You wouldn’t believe it but it has the same consistency and taste as real ice cream! Sometimes I’ll add a spoonful of honey, peanut butter or nutella when I want to mix it up a bit. What is your favorite healthy summer treat?

Summertime is Flying By!

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Whew, I cannot believe how quickly summer is flying by! With two little girls, it seems like as soon as we get a second to catch our breath, we’re off on another adventure. So far this summer we’ve been to visit each set of grandparents, visited the zoo, spent a rainy afternoon at the movie theater, watched the fireworks over the river and lots more.

Right now, I’m in the middle of packing everyone’s things to head out to our lake house for an entire week. By the way, how does packing always end up being mom’s job? At the lake we usually wake up early and do some sort of hike (or as much of a hike as we can with one daughter wandering to look at every bug and the other in a jogging stroller) and then spend the rest of the day on the water. At night, we’ll grill out and spend some time counting the stars before heading to bed. I am so thankful for this time to spend with my husband and girlies.

Now it’s back to packing… I must find my Tummy Tuck Belt before I leave. I can’t go anywhere without that thing!

Celebrating 8 Years of Marriage

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My husband and I recently celebrated our eight-year wedding anniversary – I can’t believe how fast time is going. We got a babysitter for the girls for the evening and went to the fanciest restaurant in town. I treated myself to a new black dress for the occasion and wore my Tummy Tuck Belt underneath to help my figure. Dinner was absolutely delicious! We really do need to have date nights more often. My husband had a filet mignon Oscar (I helped myself to more than a couple bites) and I had a delicious lobster ravioli dish. We finished the meal with crème brulee (wasn’t I just telling you about my sweet tooth?!) and a glass of champagne to celebrate eight wonderful years together.

While I was getting dressed for our date, I thought how nice it would have been to have a Tummy Tuck Belt back when I got married. Even though I worked out a lot before our wedding date, it would have been nice to have the belt to wear under my wedding dress. My favorite memory of my wedding day was the look on my husband’s face when they opened the doors of the church for me to walk down the aisle. It is truly something I will never forget!

Typical Mom Problems: Fighting off a Sweet Tooth

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Do any of you out there have a sweet tooth like me? Lately I feel like there is constantly something sugary nearby that I’ve been snacking on: M&Ms, brownies, and more. My oldest daughter just had her third birthday party and we made dozens of cupcakes to take to school. They were chocolate cupcakes topped with pink icing (her favorite color) and purple sprinkles. Cooking with Sarah is so much fun! Even though the kitchen gets pretty messy with the two girls helping out, some of my favorite memories have been made while baking. I also got some great shots last week of Sarah with icing all over her face.

As a mom trying to watch her weight, my sweet tooth can get me in trouble sometimes. That’s why I like to keep fresh fruit around the house to snack on. It gives you a little bit of sweetness and you won’t find yourself at the bottom of a tub of icing. I even took the girls to the strawberry field a few weekends ago to let them help me pick a few buckets. It was a fun trip that helped me teach the girls of having a balanced and nutritious diet. I even remembered to wear my Tummy Tuck Belt on our little excursion! So, readers, which do you prefer – sweets, fruit or a little bit of both?