Beautycounter: My Why

A few days ago I shared that I have gotten involved with a mission-based company called Beautycounter. Before becoming a consultant I had no idea about the lack of regulation when it comes to the toxic ingredients companies are allowed to use in our everyday products. Products that I use on myself and more importantly on my daughter every day! After doing a ton of reading, watching and listening I learned a few things that I can't really "un-see" and since then, I felt like I had to do something to share this information with my family and friends.

As I said in my Facebook post, this is more than just a thing for me. I'm not a sales person by any stretch of the imagination and I'm not doing this as a way to stay at home, I love my job! But as some of you know, over the last few months in an effort to lose the baby weight I discovered a passion for health and wellness. I've been taking great care of myself in terms of what I put in my body, but I've been missing the mark with what I put on my body.

That being said, I'm excited to focus some of my time and energy helping educate others on the importance of safe skincare while also offering a safe, affordable and high performing option! I am also a sucker for leadership, networking and mentorship, so this is a great opportunity to work along side some bad-ass women and make important change in the beauty/skincare industry.

Some eyeopening tidbits to consider:

• The European Union has spent the last two decades banning over 1,300 ingredients from personal care products while the United States has only partially banned 30 to date.
• There are over 80,000 chemicals on the market today, many of which have zero safety data.
• The United States has not passed a major federal law to regulate the safety of ingredients used in personal care since 1938
• I found at least one or more of the 1500 ingredients found on this list (each of which are never used in Beautycounter products) that are linked to organ toxicity, or known to be carcinogens and/or hormone disruptors in the products I was using on myself and my daughter. One was formaldehyde. GROSS!
  
  

I know what you might be thinking, "we've been using these products for years and we're fine." Well yeah you may be fine now, but how do we really know what those chemicals and toxins are doing to our bodies? After all your skin is your largest organ! Not to mention, times have changed and the ability to research and learn more is now easier than ever. Look at everything coming out recently about Talcum powder being linked to cancer. My grandmother used that religiously and passed away from cancer, perhaps those were linked? If you could possibly avoid it, why wouldn't you?! Check out this quick video to learn more...

If you're interested in learning more about how you can switch your daily routine to a safer, yet still effective option, join my Facebook group or send me a message. I'd love to tell you what I've learned and create a customized regime based on your needs.

Happy New Year!!

I can't believe it's already New Year's Eve. I mean seriously how did we get from Thanksgiving, to Christmas, to NYE in what feels like the blink of an eye?! We had a wonderful Christmas and I'm excited to welcome a new year. I hope you are as well!

2014 was a great year, there were some hard times, but even more great times and tons of memories were made. I grew professionally and did my best to enjoy each moment as it happened. This year I finally finished by Bachelor's degree, traveled to tons of fun places with my work, met hundreds of awesome people and made new friends while kindling old friendships. Scott started a new career that was a scary move for our family but we haven't looked back since and he's doing so well. It's so much fun seeing your hubby successful. I couldn't be more proud of him.

Scott and I won't do much this evening, we've never been big NYE party animals, I get nervous being out so late on a dangerous evening, plus tonight it's suppose to be freezing so I know we're not missing much! Instead, we'll go over to my Aunt and Uncle's and ring in the new year with Baked Ziti, garlic bread, and family. My Aunt and Uncle are both now retired and are headed down to Yuma Arizona in a few days and will be gone for 3-4 months so we're sure going to miss them and want to soak up as much time as possible before they go.

I've started to notice that more people seem to be cheerful and happy on New Year's Eve vs. Christmas. Perhaps there is less stress and more time for self reflection that makes people more relaxed and excited? Whether you had your best year yet, one of your worst or one that's in between, it's exciting to start a clean slate and begin a new story. While I normally set New Years Resolutions, this year I'm not. Instead I'm setting goals that are obtainable and specific.

First thing on my list - purging. I'm ready to go through closets, my pantry, our garage and every other nook and cranny and get rid of stuff that we don't need or use. Almost two years of marriage has caused an excess of lots of stuff that we just don't need! I don't plan to do it all in one day, because that's what I usually plan and well that hasn't gotten me far! Instead I'm going to follow this #ClutterFree30 challenge in January --

Here's a list of other things I want to shoot for in 2015:

• Blog more
• Finally hang wedding pictures (oops)
• Continue nightly cleaning routines to make weekends more enjoyable
• Be present
• Continuously self improve
• Worry less
• Laugh more

What do you want to do in 2015? What are you most looking forward to?

Weight Loss: December Goals

 

Well it's officially my favorite month of the year and I've started my annual "days until Christmas" countdown. There's 24 if you're wondering, so you had better start shopping, wrapping and decorating!

With my favorite month comes weekends jam packed with holiday parties, baking days, trips to Zoolights and fun meals with friends and family. It's going to be a tough month to navigate with my new clean eating lifestyle, but thank goodness for 80/20 and allowing myself cheat days! I won't be perfect and I likely won't see the best results possible but it's important to enjoy holiday seasons. 

Here are my December goals: 

• Drink one gallon of water or more per day
• Work out at least three times per week
• Stay off the scale and only weigh weekly
• Keep indulgences down to a minimum and avoid excess sweets
• Lose 5lbs by New Years Eve
• Continue logging my meals in MyFitnessPal

You'll notice my workout goal is only set for three times a week. We're going to be having fun this month and will likely be tough to fit in a 5 day workout regimen. During the slower weeks I'll push for 4-5 but I want to set myself up for success not failure!

What are your goals for December? How are you going to stay on track despite parties, Christmas candy and oodles of baked goods? 

Goals: November

November is one of my favorite months. Not only because it is part of Fall but because in my mind it officially kicks off the "holidays". And for those of us on a mission to slim down or get healthy, the holidays can be a scary time. I'm confident that I can get through the next 60 or so days and stay on track. I have goals and I'm determined to get there. I will enjoy Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and all of the treats in between but I will do it in moderation.

To keep myself focused this month despite work travel, two family Thanksgiving celebrations and a work Thanksgiving celebration I have set a few goals.

1. Lose 5 pounds by December 1st
2. Work out at least 3 days per week with a goal of 5
3. Eat clean 80% off the time
4. Recognize all that I have to be thankful for (more to share on that later)
5. Try 4 new healthy recipes
6. Increase time on stair climber to 25 minutes in order to prepare for Big Climb

I'll check back in at the end of the month and share how I did as well as new goals for December!

What are your goals this month? How do you stay accountable during the holidays?
 

Weight Loss: Goals

Photo Cred: www.strollalongfitness.com

Goals are a required component to obtain long-term success, whether you're striving for something personally or professionally. It's nearly impossibly to get where you are trying to go without clearly defining where exactly that is. When it comes to weight loss or fitness, set goals that are both short term and long term. Want to lose 70 pounds? Well if that is all you focus on you'll find yourself discouraged and likely give up. Instead focus on losing 5-10 pounds at a time. Bite off little chunks at a time and you'll find greater success.

When you set your goals, make sure they're specific, realistic and attainable. For example I really want to lose 25 pounds but to say I'm going to do that by November 15th would be unattainable and unhealthy. Instead I am setting measurable goals, and with those goals come rewards. Weight loss and fitness aren't easy and they take a lot of determination that should be rewarded a long the way.

The other important thing about goals and even weight loss is that you must take one day at a time. There are going to be days when I overindulge. There will be days when I don't get in a workout because of one excuse or another, but instead of dwelling on those road bumps I am promising myself to get back up the next morning and start over. The beauty of our lives is that every day we get a new beginning. Don't let one bad day, one "bad" meal, or one missed workout throw you off your path. It's important to always remember why you started!

I recently shared my weight loss journey so now it's time to share my goals. While you're likely use to goals in the form of pounds lost, my goals are not solely focused on what the scale has to say. While this is a good measure of weight loss, it is not always accurate and can be discouraging. You can lose inches and tone up without losing much weight. In fact you can lose a lot of inches before the number on the scale ever budges! I don't know about you but I'd rather my clothes fit me well and for my body to tone up, than to see a certain number on the scale. Besides, even at my goal weight I was on the heavy end of my "suggested weight" and BMI, so I can agree that it is not all about the number.

"It’s true, the scale can only give you a numerical reflection of your relationship with gravity. That’s it. It cannot measure beauty, talent, purpose, life force, possibility, strength, or love. Don’t give the scale more power than it has earned. Take note of the number, then get off the scale and live your life. You are beautiful!” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

Here are my goals for the next few weeks:

1. Eat clean 80% of the time
2. Cut out alcohol other than 1-2 glasses of wine per week
3. Try new, healthy meals
4. Work out 3 days per week for the first few weeks then eventually work up to 4-6 days a week
5. Lose 8 pounds by Thanksgiving

What are some of your personal fitness goals? How do you reward yourself after meeting those goals?