Setting Healthy New Years Resolutions

Hey friends! Happy 2014!

I have some exciting news for you! 

FIRST - I'm being interviewed on The Lifestyle Accountability Show & podcast! Pretty cool. I'm doing the interview on Monday night, and it will go live on FEBRUARY 7TH... so PLEASE check it out when it's posted! You can get it on iTunes as well. I will be talking about healthy living and Passing Daisies!

SECOND - I've decided to participate in a few more runs in Cincinnati. One is the Mini Heart Marathon 5k [March], and the others are the Flying Pig Marathon 10k [May] and The Color Run [August]. This is big for me because 1) I'm not a very good runner 2) one of them is a 10K and I've never done a 10k...I will probably walk most of it, but it's not until May and 3) I haven't worked out in a long time thanks to being unable to afford a gym membership. My LA Fitness account has been frozen for a long time, BUT I'm about to unfreeze it and get back in the game. Thanks to now having a job as a full time nanny (and loving it), I can actually afford some stuff! I'm hoping to move out soon. What a big lifestyle change THAT will be. 

THIRD - I'm happy to announce that I'm writing a book! I hope to finish it by the end of year, and I plan to work on it while the girls I nanny are napping. The working title is "Just Say Yes" and it will be about how saying YES to change can completely change your heart and mind. Sound like something you wanna read? I sure hope so because I'd love for you to buy a copy when it comes out someday :)

The main reason I wanted to write this post was to share four tips for setting healthy New Years resolutions, if you haven't set some yet. It can be hard to set realistic resolutions that you can actually keep, but I'm going to try my best to share what I'm doing with you.

TIP #1: Be Realistic & Specific
I can't stress enough how important it is to BE REALISTIC and VERY specific when setting your resolutions! Too many people get discouraged because they set goals that are too general, like "lose weight" or "give up sugar" or "eat healthy." Better resolutions would be things like "Eat three fruits or vegetables daily" and "Lose 1-2 pounds a week." The more specific the better.

It's also important to be realistic. Can you honestly "give up sugar?" Sugar is in everything! A better resolution would be to "eat dessert once a week"  or "avoid all refined sugar one day a week."

Those above examples are very specific and are easy to break down into steps, which leads me to tip #2...

TIP #2: Break Your Resolutions Into Parts
It's helpful to break your resolutions down into ACTION STEPS so you can more easily keep your resolutions. For example, if your resolution is to "lose 10 pounds," some action steps could look like:
Step 1: Go to the gym on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays before work for 30 minutes
Step 2: Eat fruit for breakfast
Step 3: Eat sweets one day a week

Make sense?

TIP #3: Keep Them Visible
It's also helpful to write down your resolutions and put them in a place where you can see them on a regular basis. If they are out of sight, they will most likely be out of mind and you will forget what you even resolved to do. 

TIP #4: Don't Get Discouraged
Everyone falls off the wagon sometimes. And that's totally okay and normal. Just try not to get discouraged and give up! It is never too late to start again and keep going on your journey!

Well, that's all I've got for you for now. Stay tuned for some pretty awesome things, like more guest blogs, book reviews, & product reviews. <3

Things I'm Loving #2

Because Friday was the Daring Bakers reveal day, I didn't post this week's "Things I'm Lovin'"! Sad, right? Here it is now to make it up to you! 

1. A Canticle for Leibowitz

I have to read this book for school in the fall, actually. For my english senior seminar class. Being the great student that I am (not), I decided to starting reading it early. It's really pretty good! The only reason I'm starting now is that I know once school starts, I won't actually read anything. I'll sparknotes all of my books. Because English students do nothing but read, which I don't have time to do during school. Kinda ironic, right? Anyways, the book is about this little monk-to-be who is stranded in the dessert during Lent, fulfilling his Lenten fast. He meets this crazy traveler, who actually leads him to this undiscovered fallout shelter from a pre-apocalyptic world, where the monk accidentally finds the remains of Saint Leibowitz's wife. It's a good read if you are looking for a good book. I love a good post-apocalyptic novel (The Hunger Games, anyone?)

2. LA Fitness

This is the gym I recently became a member of - until I go back to school. It's only $10 a week, and you can pay on a week to week basis. Cool, huh? And it's super close to my house.

3. Sheet Protectors

I love these because they can turn any sheet of paper into a dry erase board. Just slip your paper in the sheet protector and ta-da! You can write on it with a dry erase marker and wipe it right off. Try it for yourself! 

4. Turkey Pepperoni

Get the low-far turkey pepperoni. I love eating these as part of my lunch of as a snack. 15 slices has only 80 calories! Yum.

5. DIY Workout Shirts

These are super easy to make, and I love them! You can find out how to make them on Pinterest. There are a million explanations on how to make them! My only note - use a L or XL tshirt, because they will get tighter when you start cutting and tying. 

6. So Delicious Almond Milk Products

I'm not a fan of their almond milk ice cream in the pints, but have you tried these? 

The stores around me are finally getting these products in, and I love them. Those mini ice cream bars are divine and have a strong coffee flavor. And I love almond milk anyways, but this has extra protein. Win!

7. Trash Cans

Okay, weird, I know. But I just got a trash can from walmart that is the perfect shade of red and totally matches the walls of my room. I love it! 

What have you been lovin this week? 

Much love, 

WIAW #31: Grillin' Out!

Welcome to my WIAW: Grillin' Out edition! Let's get started! 

Okay, this almond yogurt isn't exactly grilled food, but I do have something to say about it. Don't buy it. Maybe it's just me, but I really don't like yogurt made with almond milk. I tried Almande (is that how you spell it?) and didn't like that, either. If you like yogurt made with almond milk, go for it. But this yogurt was not my cup of tea. 

This week, we grilled on our new grill. Woohoo! We made bbq chicken (yum), grilled romaine salad with grilled radicchio and tomatoes, and a roasted corn salad with the following grilled veggies: corn, eggplant, orange bell pepper, and red onion. I also chopped up some fresh basil and threw that in with some orange juice. Talk about scrumptious and super healthy! 

I also made homemade garlic Ritz crackers :) No hydrogenated oils for me!

As far as fitness goes, I have been continuing to exercise at LA Fitness (treadmill, elliptical, bike + arm machines) as well as do my Jillian Michaels' DVDs (No More Trouble Zones and Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism are my favorites right now). Still trying to avoid sweets for the most part and focus on clean eating. Whole foods are the way to go - naturally yummy, with little fat and only natural sugars. Even though it's tempting, I'm glad I've stopped buying sweets. It stops my late night snacking on handfuls of chocolate chips!

What's your favorite healthy workout snack?

Much love, 

GIVEAWAY: Mary Jane's Brownies

Have you entered to win two FREE product coupons from Coconut Bliss? Enter before 11:59 PM EST tonight!

And while you're at it, join the Things I'm Lovin' link up!

Today, I want to talk brownies. 

But before I talk brownies, a little update on my weight loss journey. Today was supposed to be my halfway weigh in, but because I spent the night at my boyfriend's last night, I didn't have a scale. So the weigh in will have to wait until tomorrow morning :(

On the bright side, I have been feeling a lot lighter. A lot happier. Healthier, too. And I definitely think I have lost weight! How much, I'm not sure, but I feel good about it. I have been trying really hard to avoid sweet things, for the most part - I tossed my entire chocolate and sweet stash, which has helped a lot. As my Tone It Up community would say, I have been trying really hard to eat lean, clean, and green! 

It's also been nice noticing my weight training progress. I've been doing weights with Jillian Michaels DVDs for a while, but now I'm starting to see some sculpting in my arms. One of my new focuses is to tone and build muscle in my shoulders - I think muscular shoulders look so awesome! I can also see lines on my abs, and I'm starting to get those... what are they called? These: 

My lines look nothing like those, by the way. But if I continue to lose fat and build muscle, I think I'm on the way to getting more defined oblique lines. Yay!

Since joining LA Fitness on Wednesday, a gym near my house, I've been able to get a lot more cardio in than normal. The cardio in Jillian Michaels DVDs only do so much. I run/walk around my neighborhood sometimes, but I like the treadmill at the gym because I can track my progress. My typical gym routine has been 20 min. on the treadmill, 30 min. on the elliptical, and 10 min. on the bike. Recently, I started exploring the arm machines, where I found the "delta fly" machine and fell in love with it. It works my shoulders in the exact area I want to work them! Love. 

My question for you today: What are your favorite shoulder and tricep workouts?

Overall, I feel good about where I am at the halfway point in my 30 days to 130 lbs. I guess we'll see tomorrow how much progress I've really made!

Now, on to my second topic: brownies. Obviously, not a diet food, but delicious nonetheless. 

Who doesn't love brownies? Only people who don't love chocolate. I can only think of two people I know who do not like chocolate, and they are crazy. (Just kidding!)

A week or two ago, I met a lovely woman named Renee. She came to Clifton, where my internship is, to drop off some of her delicious brownies for me to review. Her company, the Mary Jane Brownie Company, is still very new. The idea for the company was conceived around five years ago, but the company itself is newly launched. The company was named after her mother. They are based out of Cincinnati, OH - gotta love the locals!

Each brownie is individually wrapped in a certified biodegradable, compostable wrap. They will stay fresh for up to 5 days without refrigeration. Crazy, right?

They currently offer six flavors: Pure Cocoa, Twisted Peanut Butter, Super Funk Chocolate Chunk, Wowie Coconut Almond Crunch, Urban Bourbon Caramel Pecan, and Caramel Sea Salt Gold. Lucky me - I got to try them all!

Of course, they were all delicious. Mary Jane knows how to make an extremely fudgey and rich brownie - I love them! I was told that the Caramel Sea Salt Gold was the most popular, and for good reason. The caramel was smooth and yummy, a perfect compliment to the rich chocolate. Personal favorites were the Wowie Coconut Almond Crunch - it reminded me of an almond joy bar or girl scout's samoas cookies - and the Twisted Peanut Butter, which tasted like peanut butter fudge with chocolate. The Urban Bourbon Caramel Pecan screamed bourbon when it hit your tastebuds - in a good way! 

Is your mouth watering yet? Do you want to try these delicious brownies? Just leave a comment below telling me what your dream brownie flavor would be. Leave a separate comment for each extra entry: 

1. Follow me on Blogger or GFC. 

2. Tweet about this giveaway and tag @cityxlights13. Also include a link to the giveaway.

One lucky winner will win a box of brownies, mailed right to their house! US residents only, please. No P.O. boxes. GIVEAWAY ENDS WEDNESDAY 7/25 AT 11:59 PM EST.

Good luck! 

Much love,