I love fall. And considering how dreadfully awful summer was weather-wise here in the Northwest (yes, I miss the desert), I’m really excited to see the leaves turn, enjoy apples and sweet potatoes, and snuggle up with a big mug of hot chocolate. I’m thinking a round of P90X may be in the fall plans too.
But first, I need to get myself not only organized, but feeling good about my days. I have this horrible habit of spinning my wheels on one thing and not feeling accomplished. So my action …

I wanted to share a fantastic giveaway by my friend Valerie at City Life Eats. She is offering up a free ticket to the Take Back Your Health Conference, to be held in the Washington, DC area on October 22-23, 2011. Several wellness experts will be speaking at the event, including Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Victoria Moran and Andrea Beaman. There will be two full days of informational lectures and healthy demos, plus some socializing time, naturally. You can enter the giveaway by commenting on her post.

This past year I’ve had the opportunity …

I’ve done P90X … twice, and as much as I love it, I’m not only a little bored, but it’s also summer, and the last thing I feel like doing is a 60 to 90 minute workout in front of the TV. I’d been struggling for a few weeks, and unable to get into the groove of a fitness routine, but early last week, the answer emerged.
I received a fitness pack at the Fitness Blogger Conference in June. It looked like a great travel idea, a resistance band, pedometer, and jump …

I used to be surprised when I heard the question “Where will I get protein?” from people going dairy-free. I could definitely understand this concern from newbie vegans (not that there aren’t plenty of protein sources for vegans, they just aren’t as commonly known or as protein-dense), but getting enough protein typically isn’t a major concern if you are only cutting out milk products.
Nonetheless, some people follow a high protein diet or don’t like to eat a lot of meat and seafood for protein. They may supplement with dairy products …

There is one TV program that I look forward to each and every week, Extreme Makeover Weight Loss. It doesn’t come on until 10pm on Monday nights, but we make an extra effort to stay awake for it. Have you seen this show?
The host of the show, Chris O’Donnell, is amazing. Each episode covers an entire year as he helps a morbidly obese client shed 200 or even 300 or more pounds. Yes, some lose over 300lbs through diet and exercise in ONE year!

Truthfully, I don’t have a goal of …

Tea flows by the pot-full in our household, so it was quite pathetic that I didn’t even own a tea diffuser. They only cost about $3, so I had no excuse. Even so, it wasn’t until my husband accidentally broke our tea pot (now that sounds silly, who would ever break a teapot on purpose?), that I finally gained the ability to brew loose leaf tea at home. For just $10 we spotted a highly functional replacement teapot at World Market that just happened to come with a cute diffuser …

So I did it! Thank you to Katie for getting me to do a 10-day Sugar-Free Challenge and to those of you who joined in! If you joined in, comment and let us know how it went for you. If you are still sugar-free, give us an update, and if you have trialed sugar-free before (or are still doing it!), I would love to hear if it benefited you.
I have to say, the results were far and above what I expected. I am excited to share them with you today …

Here I am, heading into Day 8 of my sugar-free challenge. How am I doing? I’ve been weak, very weak. But, I’ve stuck with it, am getting a bit stronger by the day … and have even learned a bit about myself.
I’d never thought of myself as an emotional eater in any way. I just loved food (especially sweet food), period. But, this past week I found out that sweets are a crutch for my stress. Day 1 of the sugar-free challenge was hard, of course, but Day 2 was remarkably easy. Sure, …

Up until a year and a half ago, I’d never done a workout video. But then, I discovered P90X (from BeachBody) and the amazing Tony Horton. He led me down a road of empowerment. For the first time in my life I have strong arms. I can do pull-ups and push-ups like an army recruit. And up until now, I felt invincible! But it broke my spirit when BeachBody emailed me this …

I am not judging mind you. I know for many people dance workouts are awesome and the way to go. But …

Sometimes I feel a bit in the minority as I cruise healthy living blogs. Runners abound, but my running days are long past … and I definitely don’t miss them.
I gave up the pavement pounding around the ripe old age of 21, when my knees simply couldn’t take the repetitive forward motion (soft surface or not). I was still very active, playing soccer a few times a week for years and years, as the side to side motion and occasional sprints were no problem at all. Soccer too has become …