It can clean your toilet, eliminate rust from a car bumper and remove grease from clothing.  It is linked to diabetes, tooth decay, hyperactivity and childhood obesity.  It also contains the devil of all ingredients – high fructose corn syrup.  We know all of this yet some of us still continue to consume soda.  I never have soda in my house but I am guilty of ordering it occasionally for the kiddos when we are out to eat.  I needed a reminder of how bad soda really is and this chart did it for me.  No more sodas. Period.

Source: Term Life Insurance

Written by Lea Barlow • Leave a comment

I absolutely do not believe in dieting.  I don’t think I have even been on a true ‘diet’ before.  What I have done is modify my eating habits to fit my lifestyle.  What does that mean? It means when the scale is being particularly nasty to me, I look at what and how much I have been shoveling into my mouth.  The usual culprits are too many dinners out or too much vino over the weekend.  Two things that are very easy to manage.  I don’t have to starve myself or eat only grapefruit for 3 weeks or buy a whole slew of different foods at the grocery store.  When I need to drop a couple lbs I just sharpen what I have already been doing for over 10 years now.

By now, you have all read that the best way to feed your body is with 5 to 6 small meals a day. Well, that’s true. It’s interesting because I don’t even remember making a conscious decision to make this my lifestyle.  My body led me there because it couldn’t handle the ups and downs of the traditional three meals a day.  5 hours between every meal left my blood sugar low, my mood foul and my stomach growling.  You know what would happen next – fat fest.  It is really the worst way to eat because your body clings to that food out of fear of being starved again.  Definitely not a way to lose weight.  Grazing is the healthiest and most natural way to fuel your body.  This fact became even more clear when I had my kids.  After trying in vein to sit them down for ‘meal-time’ I saw that this was a futile task.  They never ate.  They eat when they are hungry which surprise, surprise is 5-6 times per day of small meals.

Here is an example of how I eat during the week:

Breakfast:  greek yogurt with cup of blueberries or strawberries, 2 cups of coffee and lots of water

Snack:  Myoplex Light Carb protein shake (strawberry)

Lunch:  half a light carb pita with turkey, 1/2 slice of swiss cheese and tabouli…more water

Snack:  banana and mozzarella cheese stick…water, water and more water

Dinner:  bunless buffalo burger and mixed green salad with vinaigrette *I never eat past 5:30 pm*

and of course dessert…1 glass of red wine and 2 tiny Famous Amos cookies

On the weekends I allow myself more flexibility because I know I can get everything back on track come Monday.  I could write menu after menu so drop me a line if you would like to see more examples.

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I’m usually quite the sucker for over-priced skin care products. My tinted moisturizer comes in just over $50, my eye cream a little under $70 and I’ve been seriously eyeing a $250 regenerative serum made of some very questionable ingredients. In my mind, I off-set those expenses with my $1.50 astringent – generic witch hazel from the corner drugstore.  My dermatologist turned me on to this natural toner while cleaning my face at one of my ‘recapturing of youth’ sessions.  The astringent properties in this herb from the witch hazel tree, provides a dual purpose for not only toning, but also has stong antioxidant properties, which makes it an ideal toner for oily and combination skin.  The herb does an excellent job of absorbing oil without making your skin feel dry and screaming for moisturizer. Because I believe 6 am is a little too early to splash cold water all over my face, I use a cotton swab of witch hazel instead.  It instantly refreshes my face and actually takes a lot of the puffiness away from my eyes.  Witch hazel is also one of the main ingredients found in more expensive toners, astringents and interestingly enough, hemorrhoid cream. The generic bottle looks a bit out of place next to all of my fancier lotions and potions on my counter but it’s definitely one of the more effective – especially for the price.

Written by Lea Barlow • 1 Comment

Cindy Crawford has been an idol of mine for as long as I can remember. Except for her unfortunate foray into acting, the woman is perfect. She has beautiful kids,a beautiful husband and a lovely furniture collection at Rooms-To-Go.  I am actually writing this post while sitting at a table from her California Cottage Collection.   But it’s her first workout video that has had the longest lasting impact on me.  I was in eighth grade when my mom brought this home and will never forget the memory of the two of us lugging our kitchen chairs into the family room and exercising with a supermodel for 45-minutes a day.  That VHS tape traveled with me to college, to two boyfriends’ houses, and several nanny jobs until it finally and sadly, unravelled.  I bought the dvd version a couple years ago and still do one of the three workouts (set to the wonderful musical stylings of Seal), at least once a week.  Pull out one of your old exercise videos this week and give it a whirl.  Just because it’s old, it doesn’t mean it still won’t kick you butt.

Written by Lea Barlow • Leave a comment