by | Sep 27, 2016 | Beauty, Fitness |
Most of us have an image in our heads of our ‘dream figure’- how we would ultimately love to look. Perhaps it’s how we used to look when we were younger, or maybe we aspire to achieve a celebrities enviable shape. This can be useful in motivating you in your diet and exercise regimes. However, it’s important not to get hung up on a shape that’s not actually achievable for you personally. Here are some of the things to consider when working towards your dream body.
Have You Considered Your Bone Structure?
If the ‘dream figure’ you have in your head is tall and petite, and you’re five foot nothing with naturally wide hips, then you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment. It doesn’t mean to say you won’t look incredible at your goal weight. But all of the diet and exercise in the world isn’t going to change your bone structure. It’s the reason why the ‘thigh gap’ trend and other similar fads are so dangerous. Not all women are naturally built in a way where this will ever be possible at a healthy weight. Focus on looking like the best version of yourself, rather than a celebrity or model that’s built completely differently.
Will You Be Losing a Lot of Weight?
Losing weight if you are above a healthy BMI is of course fantastic for health, as well as confidence reasons. But sometimes after losing weight, the body doesn’t ‘spring back’ to the smaller shape it once was. Some people can find loose skin or pockets of stubborn fat an issue. These kinds of things can be treated successfully with plastic surgery, but it’s worth knowing that this may be a hurdle to cross when reaching your dream figure. You could check out a cosmetic surgeon such as belredcosmeticsurgery.com to find out the different procedures available. Alternatively, you could look into non- surgical body sculpting methods such as fat freezing and laser fat removal.
Credit- Pixabay
Have You Had Children?
The miracle of pregnancy and childbirth is of course incredible. The only problem is pregnancy can permanently change some areas of your body. For example carrying a baby can make your ribcage expand meaning you look wider in this area regardless of how much weight you lose. This is why even if you’re looking at an old picture of yourself as your ‘dream figure’ inspiration, it’s not necessarily possible to get back to exactly that. Hormones change during pregnancy as well as from just natural ageing. This means you’re likely to carry any excess weight differently to when you were younger.. So something to bear in mind when trying to slim down to your pre-pregnancy body.
Credit- Public Domain Pictures
It’s always good to have a goal and something to aim for (providing it’s a healthy goal). It’s just important to be aware that ‘perfect’ doesn’t exist, and aiming to be the best version of yourself is the best way to look at things.
Are you working towards your ‘Dream Figure’?
FTC Disclaimer:
This is a collaborative post and may contain affiliate links.
by | Sep 26, 2016 | Fashion |
Hi Beautiful People,
Are you thinking about your steps? If not, you may want to start thinking about them. I thought that I had it all mapped out and I was getting my steps each day. I felt kinda proud about it. I would intentionally walk up and down three flights of steps at work about two or three times a day and I thought that was enough. I surprised that I had only achieved about 3,000 steps out of the 10,000 step goal. I started using a personal fitness tracker and it kicked my step level up a notch. However, with that tracker I had to always check my smart phone or its website to see how many steps I have achieved. This can be a disadvantage, especially when I want to see where I am at in a jiffy. I recently had the opportunity to try the FitBit Blaze Smart Fitness Watch, courtesy of Verizon Wireless, to see what the difference might be. The FitBit Blaze watch is available from Verizon for $199.99 and is available in Black, Blue or Plum.
JT hiking in the Canyonlands with her Fitbit Blaze Smart Fitness watch
Specifications from Verizon website:
Fitbit Blaze™ Smart Fitness Watch
Get fit in style with the Fitbit Blaze™—a smart fitness watch designed to help you maximize every workout and every day. Use fitness features like PurePulse™ continuous heart rate, multi-sport tracking, Connected GPS and FitStar workout on your wrist. Automatically track your activity, exercise and sleep. Stay connected with call, text and calendar notifications. Customize Fitbit Blaze with a variety of watch faces or accessorize with bands and frames. It’s everything you need for fitness and style—all in one sleek time piece.
- Activity Tracking – whether you are running, biking or hiking; the sensors recognizes the type of activity that you are doing and records it for you.
- PurePulse™ Heart Rate and Simplified heart rate zones – This feature tracks your heart rate during the day and during a workout. It will let you know if your heart rate is in the rate zone when exercising, to burn the most calories.
- Connected GPS – If you want to know the route of your walk or run; the GPS feature will track it for you.
- FitStar Workouts – From your wrist, the Blaze will give you instructions with graphics for a simple and quick workout. A perfect option if want to have a workout on the go. You can workout anywhere at anytime with images and instructions on how to do the specific exercises.
- The workout summaries provide insights and track progress from day-to-day, and week-to-week.
- The design is sleek with a high resolution screen that is easy to read.
- The watch band is interchangeable in leather, stainless steel and sports band selections.
- With a flip of the wrist you can see the time and your current step total.
- The sensors are sensitive and can register you taking steps when you are actually checking the screen. On my wedding anniversary, my hubby and I took an all-day Jeep tour through Canyonlands and Arches National Park. When we were jeeping through the rocks and rough terrains the Fitbit blaze was measuring my movements as steps. That was not an accurate count for me that day. It was good that I was also hiking on the tour. There is a big difference between in the total number of steps taken with my other tracker and the FItBit Blaze. If i reached 10,000 steps on the FItBit Blaze, I would still have about 3000 to 3500 more steps to do with the other tracker. This was very interesting because trackers were worn on different arms at the same time.
- With the FitBit Blaze connected to my smart phone, you can receive Smart notifications from your calendar, email accounts, and text message on the watch. Everything is easy to see and clear.
- The smart phone app organizes your daily stats with the option to add water intake and caloric intake. The information from the FitBit Blaze synced with the smart phone app with out any issues or problems.
- On the Fitbit’s website, you and see more detailed information about your steps, weight, sleep and compare it with previous days statistics. This allows you to see if you are on track with your target number of steps, calories burned, or water intake. You can set goals and the app and website will do the tracking for you to see if you within reach of achieving that goal.
- Though the FitBit website, you can join groups of like-minded, fitness-minded people. You can challenge each other for monthly step totals, miles covered or active-minutes achieved.
- Once you sign up for the app and website, you will receive weekly updates of your progress; and provide you with tips for a healthy life. These tips include recipe for healthy food choices.
Fitbit Blaze Smart Fitness watch
The FitBit Blaze watch is your all-in-one fitness tracker. It is the ideal tracker for anyone who wants to take control of their fitness level and goals. It is all within reach of your wrist or your laptop. With all the technology built into the FitBit Blaze; there is no need to worry if it will be hard to understand. FitBit has gone the extra mile to simplify everything so that it’s easy to set-up, easy to use and easy to understand. The time is now to know your fitness level and to know where you want it to go to. You can get there with the FitBit Blaze.
FTC Disclaimer:
Verizon Wireless provided me with the FITBIT Blaze to sample for six weeks, after which time I returned it back to Verizon. I received no monetary compensation to write this review. All opinions are my own.
by | Sep 25, 2016 | Travels |
Good Evening Traveling People
Who is ready for a road trip?
For my wife and I, our favorite way to travel is in our Jeep Wrangler. We have been blessed and fortunate to be able to travel to some amazing places over the last seventeen years. From the Biltmore Mansion to Monument Valley; from Chicago to Memphis, we have experienced wonderful museums, historic sites, national parks, restaurants and places to stay. We have walked through the urban mountains of the big cities. We have driven through and to the top of the real mountains. We have stood on the top of bridges, looking down at the people and the water. We hiked in the desert heat to see the Earth’s beauty.
And We Are Home! Returning from a road trip to Utah
In a new series on our blog, we will share with you our experiences from the road. It may be a memorable stay at a bed and breakfast or reliving a special moment together. It may be providing must-see sites in the cities that we have traveled to. It may providing tips and tricks that we have learned that will make your own road trip a better experience for you and your family. It may be destinations and sites that is on our wish list of places to go.
Just hop in the Jeep, sit back and enjoy the ride with us.
Jay
by | Sep 20, 2016 | Pets |
Every dog owner is aware that sometimes it comes at a price. More often than not this is your home. Just like with small children it’s inevitable that a dog will make a mess in your home. So you are going to have to invest in more time keeping it clean. With that in mind, I thought I would share with you some top tips to keep your home clean and tidy. Allowing you more time to enjoy with your dog.
Unpleasant smells
As a dog owner, we know that they have a scent. One that can get stronger at times especially when they have been outside. These odours can linger in the home. So it’s important to ensure that your dog gets bathed regularly. But make sure that you don’t wash too frequently, or avoid not washing your dog often enough. Just like we have specific requirements for our hair, so does your dog. So take into account if your dog’s hair is particularly greasy or dry. While bathing your dog is a great way to keep odours at bay, consider making sure your home is ventilated. Also, use strong fabric fresheners to ensure the rest of your home continues to smell rosey.
Source
Damaged items
Another thing that dog owners are all too familiar with is damaged items. If your dog likes to chew things, then you sure know about it. Nothing is safe from your slippers to the carpets. To avoid your furniture and other items being destroyed consider bones for them to chew or indestructible dog toys for them to enjoy. You can go to the website online to find out more information on what’s available.
Dog toys everywhere
Dogs are just as playful as young children. So it shouldn’t surprise you that there will be an accumulation of things like toys everywhere. It’s important to keep your dog occupied, especially when you are not around. But consider having a storage space where they can live at night or when your dog isn’t keen to play. Doing this will ensure that your home stays tidy.
Source
Dirty paw prints
The last thing you want is for your dog to go trailing through your home with muddy paws after a long walk. But these incidents can happen and cause stains on carpets, flooring and even the walls. However, training your dog to wait until you give the order to enter your home is one way to combat it. Although, you may find that these things do happen from time to time, so make sure you have a good stain remover spray on standby. Tackle the marks as soon as possible to avoid them staining.
Dog hair
Finally, one of the biggest issues with dogs is the accumulation of hair that can gather all around your home. Of course, the amount of hair a dog sheds depends on its breed. Regular grooming is essential to make sure you brush away those stray hairs. A dog will shed its hair more at certain times of the years, so make sure you are aware of when you may need to groom your dog more regularly.
I hope these tips help you keep your home clean and tidy.
FTC Disclaimer:
This is a collaborative post and may contain affiliate links.
by | Sep 5, 2016 | Fashion |
Hi Beautiful People,
Do you ever feel like you want your lashes to grow longer or brows to look fuller? Are you wearing faux eyelashes and would really like to get rid of them?
I hear you loud and clear. I have never worn faux lashes and don’t pluck my eyebrows, but I do know what it’s like to fill in brows to make them look fuller.
New York Biology UltraLASH
New York Biology has an UltraLASH Lash & Brow Serum that claims to make those brows look fuller and grow those lashes longer. I am always a little skeptical for such claims being made but I don’t mind giving the product a try. My brows and eyelashes are already full but I do add powder or a brow liner stick for fullness.
The UltraLASH brow and lash serum comes in a 3.5 mil box and when you take top off it has brush applicator on the top. After I wash my face I apply according to the directions the brush gently along my brows . You only need to apply the serum once so it will last a long time.
My brows look full, healthy, however, my brows are already thick so not seeing a lot of change right now. I will keep using the serum and see how it works overtime.
JTwisdom applying applicator to brows
When I apply the serum to the upper eyelashes I would apply the brush from the inner part of my lash line to the outer part. it was very easy to apply, and a little of the serum was all I needed. I have used this product a month and I can tell that areas were my lashes need to look thicker I am starting to see thickness.
JT applying brush to lash area
The ingredients and more information about the UltraLASH & Brow serum is listed below for your convenience.
Aqua (Water), Glycerine, Hydrolyed Starch Phosphate, Polyglyceryl-4 Caprate, Pentapeptide-17, Pterocarpus Marsupium Bark Extract, Malus Domestica (Apple) Fruit Cell Culture Extract, Mannitol, Panthenol (D), Glutamic Acid (L), Xanthan Gum, Lecithin 1, 2- Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Chloride Disodium Succinate, Tropolone, Phenoxyethanol, Phytic Acid.
Directions
Draw the applicator carefully along the skin at the base of the upper eyelashes going from the inner part of your lash line to the outer part. May also apply to eyebrow area. Use once daily. External use only.
- DERMATOLOGIST & CLINICALLY TESTED this irritation-free and allergy-free formula was tested to deliver results without causing discomfort. This eyelash serum has gone through rigorous testing at an independent lab under dermatologist supervision to insure you have peace of mind.
- LAB TEST IN CLINICAL TRIALS SHOWED that after use of Eyelash Enhancing Serum, users found that applying the solution daily, gave a 25% increase in the thickness and length of eyelashes after two weeks, and a 75% increase after six weeks of regular use. The results were studied over a panel of applicants and measured with SigmaScan software.
- THICKER, FULLER, & LONGER LASHES our Eyelash Growth Serum is made utilizing cutting edge technologies such as Pentapeptide-17, Swiss Apple Stem Cells and Botanical Complex Tricholasty®. These active high-end ingredients encourage hair to grow thicker, fuller, and longer while improving the overall appearance and condition of your lashes.
- CREATE THICKER, MORE DEFINED BROWS unlike other eyelash growth products the ingredients in this serum have been tested to work on brows just as effectively. Our clinically proven formula is designed to transform weak, uneven and sparse brows into healthy-looking, fuller brows.
- MADE IN THE USA our Eyelash Enhancer Serum is made using the Highest Quality Ingredients. Produced in our FDA Approved cGMP Facility does not contain alcohol, parabens or sulfates and is Cruelty Free.
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