First it was chalky Slimfast shakes, then it was juice bars serving green grain in a cup with a straw...and then, then ShakeO came onto the scene and all was finally good with my tastebuds. But after nearly three months of shakin', blendin' & sippin', I was ::GASP:: getting bored. Then one day a friend took me to South Block Cafe where they make cold pressed juice {blech! Sorry, I just can not fathom drinking my veggies.} and acai bowls. What's an acai bowl? Actually, let's g

Here I go again, shaming Shakeology and turning one of my favorite desserts into a *nutritious* shake! Read it [the ingredients] and weep, ya'll. This ShakeO packs a serious nutrition-punch: oats, banana and spinach? Can you say fiber & protein packed? Oh, you can't? It's because your mouth is too full with this delectable dessert-like shake, isn't it? Knew it. You know the drill - throw all of these ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth: 1 packet Vanilla Shakeolo

I am no stranger to fitness programs - I have tried almost all of the trendy routines under the sun.Body Revolution, P90x (and P90x3!), 30-Day Shred, Biggest Loser, HIIT's, cross-training, and pretty much anything by Jillian Michaels. You name it, I've done it, and occasionally still revisit my favs. So when you ask me to start a new program with a new instructor that I've never virtually met before, I'm weary, judgement and skeptical...I'm a fitness snob. Nonetheless, my inc

Ninety-nine percent of fitness & nutrition enthusiasts will tell you, "it's 20% fitness & 80% food," and while I completely agree that nutrition is a huge part of a healthy lifestyle {as I detail in 10 Health Hacks for changing my life & body}, for me, a much larger part of my health journey {and challenge} came from fitness over food. Around the time I was 20 years old I decided that I wanted to get in shape for my 21st birthday. Why then? I have no idea. Other than the fact

I know I am SO late to this shake party, but I just never hopped on the Shakeology train, until now! 1.) Because I loathe the thought of drinking my meals. Meals were m a d e for crunching. If you don't know about my love of cereal - you don't know me, period. 2.) What's so fab about ShakeO that can't be achieved in a homemade smoothie of my own concoction?! And 3) I'm not one for trends... Who are we kidding. I l i v e for trends! Which is why I finally caved, jumped on the

When I was told that I wouldn't be involved in any aspect of my 30th birthday, my mind started racing... But, but, what about the decor?! The layout of the house?! The events of the evening?! THE FOOD?!?! One of my biggest, ahem, concerns, if you will, was the food. I am a picker—a mini cupcake, poppable appetizer, finger food kind of gal. On top of that, I like to snack on the healthier side. Talk about a challenge for late night party food! My party planners proclaimed a bi

Fresh off the heels of a 7-day plank challenge with fellow fab blogger {popcorn and pandas} & soon-to-be BeachBody Coach {countdown to post-VEGAS PiYO}, my bestie & I were revved up and eager to keep our middles whittled in prep for our early bikini-season-debuts in VEGAS {I don't know why I feel like that should always be in all caps. Just me?}. That's when I turned to my old-faithful—the abs that started it all. When I first started weening into working out in 10th grade, I

Let's flashback a bit, shall we? Childhood—I played soccer, softball, volleyball and basketball year-round, with a passion...and with as little running as possible. The name of my game was defense, aka, hang back and let the opponent come to me. Teenage years—I failed my ROTC physical training test because I couldn't run the course fast enough {or finish at all...}. I quit almost all sports that required a timed-run as part of the tryout. And I sure as heck was not runnin

A large part of starting this blog was to one day dive into my weight journey. Therapeutic? For sure. But inspirational? That's the ultimate goal. I am the epitome of the cliche, "If I can do it - you can do it." And I did it—it wasn't always puppies and unicorns {or fruit and rice cakes}—but I did it. For those who only know me today, you may be thinking, "What is this journey you speak of?" {because you all talk in ancient history lingo, right?} And for those who knew me

Winter has a way of depressing by suppressing. Everything from daylight, to warmth on your bones, to your drive to workout, to your will to eat well—it is all squashed by Winter. The days are shorter, unbearably colder, encourage layers {of body fat and clothing} & undoubtedly provoke the pantry-eater in you. There are no visions of poolside romps, beach body bikinis, endless fresh veggie & fruit options, or any drive-worthy factors to 'put the oatmeal cream pie down, and wal

When I first set out on my fitness journey I taped my number one inspiration on the back of my bedroom door—Britney Spears and those fab abs. That picture was the last thing I saw before walking out to face the day ahead—a day full of choices: healthy or unhealthy, active or lazy. That image on the back of my door got me through many a 'doughnut vs. celery' and 'stairs vs. escalator' decisions. Mind you, this was, oh, I don't know - 11 years ago? But have we SEEN the new Wome

HAPPY NEW YEAR! At long last, a blog is born. If I had a dollar for every time someone uttered, "you should totally start a blog," then a.) I would be a multi-millionnaire by now {disclaimer: that may be an exaggeration}, & b.) I would have known how very complicated it is to create, implement & launch a blog, & would have used said multi-million dollars to pay a very capable designer to create, implement & launch it for me ;-) {Mad props to designers & bloggers out there—