Sunday, April 24, 2011

RawTella

RAWtella


Do you ABSOLUTELY love Nutella?

Could you eat it ALL day and night on EVERYTHING from bagels to strawberries??

I KNOW I COULD!

Today, after searching the web for new creative healthy ideas I stumbled upon "RawTella"

It's a healthier version of "Nutella."

It's Raw, vegan, gluten-free, and safe for people with peanut allergies!! IT still has that amazing chocolate sweet flavor that Nutella has, except the ingredients are only hazelnuts, cacao nibs and coconut sugar.




It is a bit pricy, but with the high class ingredients that go into it, I'm not surprised and will gladly pay it! 


PLUS if you add "Rawtella" on Facebook, you can get an additional 25% off :)


Order Rawtella Online HERE


Have a healthy Fabulous Easter everyone!


(I hope the Easter Bunny leaves you Rawtella Easter Eggs instead of chocolate ones today!)


Xox Brittany


A-Fitspirational-Blonde

Saturday, April 23, 2011

A Chopstick Catastrophe! -Portion Size in America


Portions, Pool Boys, and Pad Woon Sen.

By Brittany Turner
The Fitspirational Blonde


Did you know, the portion sizes that we are served in America today, are DOUBLE what the ACTUAL portion sizes should be? So, that means if you are served a full plate of spaghetti, you are technically eating a meal that was originally meant for TWO people! However, American's don't usually know or talk about it. 


Yesterday was my best friend's birthday, so we spent the day together lounging by our beach side Marriott's pool, basking in the warm sun, sipping on Virgin Margaritas while simultaneously checking out the gorgeous pool guys who brought us everything we could have possibly desired!

Ok, I have a confession. We secretly kept sending our beautiful pool-side waiter to the kitchen for more drinks and napkins just so we could watch his beautiful butt strut back and forth! Come on ladies, you KNOW you would have done it too!

Anyway, sitting pool side (feeling great in my bikini by the way after just coming back from the hotel's gym) of course I was reading the latest issue of Shape Magazine. As I read I became particularly engaged with an article about portion sizes! Like I said earlier, in most restaurants we are served DOUBLE what we should be eating for each meal. Scary right? What's REALLY scary is if we finish it every time!



Ever since we were little, we have been TRAINED to eat everything on our plate. Didn't your mom used to yell at you saying, "Honey, you can't have dessert until you finish EVERYTHING on your plate!!" (so you'd secretly feed your broccoli to the dog under the table.) Then they wonder why their children are obese… and yell at them for being fat. Have you ever noticed that before? Life is a vicious circle. I was lucky enough to have parents who let me eat what ever I wanted, but I know I was just lucky kid. 

When we grow up, mentally our bodies are already trained to eat EVERYTHING on our plates because that's what we've always know to be correct. So now when we have grown out of kid's menus and have been thrown into the real world of oversized portions, we feel the need to finish every little thing served to us!

Back to the pool, I still laid out gazing at our hot waiter and reading my Shape Magazine (While SHARING a Caesar salad with my best friend) and continued reading the article on portion sizes. The article suggested eating your meals with a dessert fork to slow down the eating process. I've read that it takes approximately 20 minutes for your brain to tell your body that it's actually full. 

Something I usually do is stop about 1/2 way through my meal, drink a glass of water and wait a few minutes to decide if i'm still hungry or if I've already eaten enough to be satisfied. Usually though, if I wait the right amount of time it usually ends up being that I am infect full and glad I stopped when I did. I think people forget to take the time to stop and actually ENJOY what they're eating. Food is such a beautiful part of our daily lives, and if we eat the right foods in the right portions, having meals should be a perfect delightful experience every day. 

Advice- next time you eat, take your time and don't rush through it. Have a RELATIONSHIP with your meal! Chew each bite 7 times and shut your eyes and think about how incredible what you're munching on actually tastes! Shutting your eyes will help you block out other distractions around you and help you focus on what you're eating. Not only will your meals be more enjoyable, but you will eat slower and get full quicker. I bet you'll be VERY glad to avoid that "OH NO I ATE TO MUCH WAY TOO FAST" feeling. EVERYONE has felt that before, I know I did overtime the words "free unlimited breadsticks" slipped the waitresses lips at the Olive Garden. I swear they're trying to kill me over there, "unlimited" and "free" are such a dangerous combination of words when it comes to food. 



On my way to Starbucks (to write this article actually,) I walked by a new Thai Cuisine that I had never been to before called "Bai Yook". The smell of my favorite Thai Dish (Pad Woon Sen) pulled me in like a girl with her first credit card passing a shoe store. I got SUCKED in and within seconds sat down and ordered it JUST for me. Choosing water instead of soda, and passing on the appetizers I was ready to eat my vegetarian dish filled with delicious proteins and vegetables and not feel guilty about a single bite! BUT I had just read the article about portions, and when my "Pad Woon Sen" arrived in front of me I remembered what I had read yesterday about larger portions. It was completely right, I realized they had served me enough food for me AND my 2 best friends… who weren't with me. So I needed to make a choice.


I could either finish the HUGE plate of food ALL BY MYSELF… or I could take on my ultimate enemies…. CHOPSTICKS. I knew using chopsticks would definitely slow me down.

Can someone please explain to me, why I can knit an entire closet full of scarves, but can't handle picking up ANYTHING with chopsticks without unintentionally vigorously flinging it across the restaurant at the poor waitress? (Yes, if you're wondering I HAVE accidentally done this on more that one occasion.) 

I'm a BLONDE CHOPSTICK CATASTROPHE!

BUT if you've been following me for long enough, you KNOW I don't give up that easily. I was DETERMINED to control my portions, so I sucked it up, ripped open the chopsticks like they were a new pair of my favorite Jimmy Choo stilettos, and began attacking my Pad Woon Sen with them.

This helped!
After about 1/2 hour of fighting to get EVERY noodle/vegetable in my mouth, and having been offered a fork about 12 times by my waitress (who I could see laughing hystarically at me with ALL the cooks in the kitchen), I succeeded, and finally felt full! I had only eaten 1/2 of my food and I had already began feeling satisfied! 

Chopsticks, you've got NOTHING on me! 

I felt GREAT! I didn't eat too much, didn't feel overly stuffed, and to top it off I had some left over to eat for lunch tomorrow! 

Eating smaller portions more frequently throughout the day, has yet again been proven to be the best way to eat. I hope you remember this post next time you eat out and are served WAY too much. Don't listen to ANYONE, you DON'T have to eat everything on your plate!


Have a Fit and Fabulous day everyone <3

Xox Brittany

The Fitspirational Blonde

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Motivation

I think EVERYONE needs to have a day like THIS


Carbs and Sugar- My Toxic Affair







Carbs and Sugar- My TOXIC Affair!
By Brittany Turner


At the very beginning of this year, I knew it was time to end my toxic affair with sugar and carbohydrates. After reading about the terrible effects they have on our body (especially sugary drinks such as Coke-a-Cola like that picture to the left), I decided January 1st would be the day when I would no longer be a victim of  "Coke" and "Carb" addictions.

I told my self, "cottage cheese causing carbs" and "sweet devilish candy"  would be a thing of the past and no longer a part of my future.


This ALL seemed like such a terrific idea in this blonde head of mine... that is, until January 2nd came around. Yes, I know, it had ONLY been ONE day and the only thing I could think about was getting my luscious lips around a juicy sweet piece of dove milk chocolate, or M&Ms or ANYTHING that started with the letter "S" and ended in "ugar". It was ALL I could think about. How could I have let carbs and sugar become such a HUGE part of my life??

Not to mention, if I stared at my baby Yorkie puppy (Locket) for long enough,  she began to transform into a moving milky way! (Sorry Locket)
Needless to say, I knew that ending my sweet affair with sugar and carbs would not be nearly as easy as I'd hoped. 

So, I did a little research to see if my addictive behavior was common, or if "mentally" turning my dog into a barking candy bar meant I should cancel my afternoon plans, and head straight to the loony bin.

5 news papers, 7 magazine articles,  and over 25 Google searches later, I was relieved to discover that an "addiction" to sugar and carbohydrates was very common. Sorry Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen, I won't be meeting you in a crazy home any time soon!


In an article on Foxnews.com, a scientist named Dr Simon Thornily actually claims that carbohydrates and Sugar are "Just as addicting as Cigarettes." I was SHOCKED to read this! I instantly threw down the 'carb-a-licious' chocolate croissant from Starbucks (mid-bite) that I was LITERALLY eating as I read his article.



Dr Thornily went on to say, “Heavily processed carbohydrates such as cornflakes, sweets and croissants quickly raise the amount of sugar in your blood. “This rush of sugar stimulates the same areas of the brain that are involved with addiction to      nicotine and other drugs." 

Terrifying right??!!

After reading his entire article on carbs/ cigarettes, It secretly made me feel a little better to know that my passion for carbs and sugar was common. 
I instantly realized though, that if I was having a hard time cutting down on the carbs, there HAD to be HUNDREDS and THOUSANDS of other people who must be just as "addicted" to them as I am!

Think about this for a second, YOU may be addicted to carbs too and not even know it! Do you get sugary cravings throughout the day and night? Do YOU choose pie and ice cream over fruit and vegetables? Try completely quitting ALL sugar and carbs for just one week and you'll know your answer instantly! I bet it will be MUCH harder than you expect.

So, this post is now dedicated to all my readers out there that (like me) are having a shameful toxic affair with carbohydrates and don't know how to quit!

GIRLS, it's time to put down the chocolate, and pick up some protein powder because this is going to be a LONG ride. If we're going to cut down the carbs, transforming our diets from sugar to celery will take a LOT of dedication and strength.

The question is, will this addiction ever let us be free? Will we EVER be able to walk past a candy store with out melting down in front of it like the wicked witch of the west from the Wizard of Oz?

Can we ever earn the self-control to choose the yellow brick road made of heathy CORN, or will our self- confidence be SQUISHED by a house filled with lolli-pops and candy canes flattening us like the wicked witch? Will we ever be able to control our bad habits after living with them for our entire lives?


YES! I KNOW WE CAN


I don't know about you, but I DEFINITELY don't like the idea of being addicted to ANYTHING. I've never let anyone or anything have control over my life before, I was definitely not about to start now! 

Sorry Sugar, take your sweet hands off of this blonde, because I'm officially putting this sweet affair to an end! 

Grab your tissues Carbohydrates, because WE'RE OVER!

So THIS is where my carb cutting, sugar stopping journey began, and THIS is how I did it!

Now that my taste buds and I were officially packing up and leaving candy land for good, I needed to come up with a plan and some goals/rules for myself to avoid a "Carby" relapse like last time. I was determined to keep my baby Yorkie from becoming a barking Milky Way in my eyes ever again.

Sugar, you can KISS MY NEW SUGAR-FREE BUTT and go give someone else cavities!

Like any break up, I knew this new HUGE change in my life was not going to be easy, but would be worth it!






-BRITTANY'S NEW GOALS/RULES-


Starting off slowly was KEY to sticking to my plan. Obviously, quitting cold turkey didn't work the first time around, so I needed to SLOWLY start replacing my sugary habits with healthier foods.

The first thing I did was literally sat down and wrote a list of rules for myself.

Weeks 1-2

  1. Soda- ONLY on weekends! I used to LOVE soda as I said before, so this was going to be tough to quit. Every time I began to crave a coke or any other sugary drink, I would drink 2 glasses of water. This kept me hydrated and quenched the thirst that my body would have gotten by drinking the soda.
  2. Restaurants- My "Pass the bread" rule. My family liked to eat out a lot, and of course most restaurants put bread on the table to keep you happy while you're waiting for your food, but one of my eating out rules is to "Pass the bread" and wait for what I actually ordered to come.
  3. Dessert at Restaurants- Usually I would be tempted to get a sugar and carb RICH dessert like some delicious ice cream or a slice of cake. My new dessert rule was if I HAD to get dessert, I would order a bowl of fresh fruit to satisfy the after dinner sweet tooth I had gotten used to craving.
  4. Drinking at Restaurants- I LOVE sugary drinks especially like juices and sodas, so when I went out (if it was a week day Monday-Friday) I would ONLY order water. 
  5. Surrounding Temptation- So I am blessed to have a lot of friends and family, but watching them eat the foods that I was trying SO hard to cut down on was like TORTURE! I couldn't stand watching someone chug a coke right in front of me while all I had was water.. especially in the beginning of my new health journey! So I had to be honest with my family and friends (that I was used to eating out with) and tell them about my new eating habits. To my surprise, they started to eat healthier around me too, which was FABULOUS for me because I got to see my family put down the sugary drinks and get healthy WITH me. Also I didn't have to suffer through watching them eat/drink it right in front of me!
  6. Late Night Snacking- Ok so I am and have ALWAYS been a night owl, so eating late was just one of the terrible habits I grew up with. I especially loved midnight snacks PACKED with sugar. My new late night snacking rule was NO sugary foods after 7pm and NO food at all after 9pm. Our bodies need time to burn the foods we've eaten all day, so 9pm was a good time to stop the snacking already!
  7. Going out- I am one of those people who isn't home very often so I was usually tempted to get fast food where ever I ended up that day. SO my new going out rule was now to PLAN my lunches ahead! This definitely became one of my most important rules I created! Every day, I would get up a little early and whip out the 'glad-ware' and 'snacking baggies' and FILL them with fruits and healthy snacks to keep in my Purse for all day snacking :) This was a great way to avoid temptation! 


^^^Those 7 rules were the rules I was determined to stick to. ^^^




Now, I'm going to be completely honest with you Weeks 1-2 WERE SO HARD!!! I'm not going to lie to you, and say that they went perfectly and it was all smooth sailing after I mentally decided to change over to a healthy life style. I had 4-5 days that I couldn't control my cravings and ate chocolate after 7pm (breaking rule 6), a few mid-night sugary snacks (Breaking 6 again), or occasionally sneaked a soda on a Tuesday afternoon (Breaking the first rule!)



I literally felt SO bad for myself after I did it EVERY TIME though. I felt like I was cheating on… well... myself! 
Everytime I popped a Pringle, I would get SO mad at myself. I remember thinking, "Brittany, you are SO pathetic you can't go two weeks without sugar and carbs? You Suck!" 

It took a while, but I finally realized that I'm HUMAN!!! Humans make mistakes, we have to go through hard times to make ourselves stronger. After coming to peace with myself, my new lifestyle and rules got A LOT easier!

By Week 3 of trying my best to stick to my rules, I could NOT believe how far I had come! Not only had I cut SO SO SO much sugar and carbohydrate filled foods from my daily meals and snacks, I actually surprised myself and began LOOKING FORWARD to eating fruit every day! 

Can you believe it??? 

When Week 4 came around, I was no longer craving sodas AT ALL, and didn't have a panic attack when someone at the table next to me was sipping on a Coke. I   was actually SO used to drinking water, it seemed weird to order any soda at a restaurant at all! I found myself not even needing to drink soda's on the weekend like I allowed myself in rule 1! Sure, I would still drink one on a special occasion, but it would be because I WANTED to drink it.. not because I NEEDED it like before! 

To tell you the truth, most of the desserts that I was so used to previously consuming before, began to start tasting TOO sweet and I didn't even enjoy them as much as I remembered.

My new rules had even gone as far as changing my sleeping habits! Since I wasn't eating sugar after 7pm, I started to go to sleep earlier. In my WHOLE life I had never been able to go to sleep at a decent time, and now after cutting the sugar down, I was getting sleepy at 10pm! I don't think I have ever gone to sleep at 10pm since I was 5 years old! 

After a week of going to sleep at 10pm, I began getting up earlier too! After getting up a few mins earlier with every passing day, I was able to accomplish SO many more things in my day! I added morning runs to my daily routines, and began making protein smoothies EVERY morning!

So now, here I am 4 months later feeling full, fit and fabulous! Looking back on that ENTIRE experience and my unhealthy ways seems so insane. I'm now going to sleep EVERY day early and waking up even earlier the day after! 

Soda, Carbs and sugar no longer control my life, I tell THEM who's boss :)

I've taken a complete 360 spin into a new healthy lifestyle, I'm more energetic and happy ALL the time. (Don't get me wrong, even to this day I STILL have my bad days, but I learned to accept them, learn from them, and come out stronger than before!) 



As you've read, it wasn't an easy journey, but because of all of my hard work and dedication, IT WAS WORTH IT.






Everyone reading this who thinks "I'm the exception" and "I could NEVER do that", I am living proof that ANYONE can. STOP making excuses about why you can't dow something, and do what I did and make PLANS towards how you CAN.

 I've created this fitness/ health blog, and also my Fitness&Health Tumblr to help anyone and everyone realize that they can change the way they run their life's to be more fit, healthy and happy with me!

So join me in "kicking sugar to the curb" and end YOUR toxic affair with carbs. Take control of your life, click your ruby red healthy heels together, and believe "There's no place like home" ---->"There's no FEELING like FIT!" 

What are you waiting for? You CAN do this.  




I did!



<3

Xox Brittany,

A-Fitspirational-Blonde

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Blonde, Fit and Fabulous- Brittany's Fitspirational Surprise!



Hi! My name is Brittany, and I'm 24 from Cali.

My life story is unique, I'm excited to share it with you.

I sit here typing this post to you still in my hot pink running shoes, with my pink 3 lb. hand weights on my right, Women's Health Magazine on my desk to my left, sipping on a fresh pineapple mango protein smoothie (that I just made) as I marvel over the unbelievable success of my health blogs!

In less than 6 months, my health blog completely turned around faster than I could have ever expected!

On March 18th, 2011 this blonde Cali girl decided she was going to turn her life around and change her unhealthy ways of living for good.

Strawberry by strawberry, run by run, smoothie by smoothie I was determined that I was going to take healthy to another level.

From then on, I decided I was going to treat my body like a new pair of Jimmy Choo shoes!  (...and BOY do I love my shoes.)

I've created this blog to help inspire as MANY people as I can to do two things:

  1. love themselves for who they are, and the beautiful bodies God gave them
  2. promote the fabulous healthy way of living! 


Raised on Sugar:

I was raised eating:

  1. sugary cereal for breakfast
  2. greasy grilled cheese sandwiches with processed square cheese for lunch 
  3. nutrition-less Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for dinner
  4. and unimaginable amounts of cookies and ice cream for dessert. 


This is how my family ate, and so this is how I thought everyone else ate too.

The word "vegetable" never crossed my lips, and my definition of a "fresh variety of fruit" was when my mom made 3 different flavors of watermelon, blueberry and raspberry jello.

Chocolate and Starbucks were literally my 2 main food groups... I don't even know how I made it past my teen years eating like this!

I never learned how to cook, the only two things I could make in the kitchen were a MESS and FIRE! My mom and I literally used to store shoes in our oven because we NEVER turned it on and needed the extra storage space for our immense collection.

I would probably still be eating like this if it weren't for my last operation.

My life story is unique, and I hope it inspires YOU to be the best YOU that you can be. 


Brittany's Life Story:



When I was born, I was diagnosed with a life threatening condition that caused the bones in my head to grow WAY quicker than a "normal" baby. They grew so fast that I have had to have over 13 operations throughout my life to halt the growing process. 
In every operation, the doctors have trimmed down the bones in my head in hopes to keep them from crushing my brain. Rapid bone growth directly effected the shape of my face, and from the second I was born, the doctors and my family realized that I would never look like societies definition of a "normal" girl. 

My condition caused one of my eyes to appear bigger and unaligned from the other, and I grew up with a tremendous under bite and was never able to bite into any food (I always had to cut it up before I ate it.) I have huge scars from my operations hidden under my hair and as you can imagine, school was far from a "walk in the park."

I grew up with kids telling me, "Brittany, one of your eyes is bigger than the other... and your mouth looks weird." It may have seemed cruel at the time, but they were right... one of my eyes did appear bigger and my mouth did look different. They were pointing out the truth, and I was stuck with it.

I spent a huge part of my child hood doing everything I could to "fit in". All I wanted to do was be "normal" like the other kids. I remember laying in the hospital bed before one of my operations thinking , "God why did you curse me with this condition? Out of all the people in the world why was I the one who had to be born with it?"

Little did I know that God knew exactly what he was doing.

After years of trying to change myself attempting to fit in with other kids... I finally had an epiphany. Laying with an IV in my arm, and a bloody bandage wrapped around my head for the umpteenth time... I realized that God had a purpose for me... and "fitting in" was NO part of it.

Some people are born to be "normal" and "fit in" with the pople around them... but some people are BORN to stand out and BE DIFFERENT, and I finally realized that I am one of those few people.

So I started embracing it. 

From that moment on, I decided that I was going to be me, and every flaw that I had wasn't going to be a flaw any more, it was going to be one more thing that made me different from everyone else AND THAT IS WHAT MADE ME BEAUTIFUL.

I embraced my bright bubbly personality and started being the person that I always wanted to be. No more hiding, no more normal, from here on out it was going to be as MUCH PINK and glitter and fabulousness as I could possibly fit in my life! 

My wonderful Doctor told his friend at a Public Relations firm about my story, and the second she met me she asked if I would be interested in spreading the story of my life. 

A few months later, my bubbly personality had landed interviews with 6 news stations, and had the opportunity to share my story with thousands of people all over California! 

But wait it gets better! A private non-profit group heard about my condition and offered to pay for 100% of my last 2 operations. Surgeons worked for over 16 hours to CRACK my upper jaw and align it with my lower jaw and significantly improved the alignment of my eyes. 

After weeks of recovering in the hospital, for the first time in my entire life, I was able to bite into an apple. 

The producer from the show "The Doctors" called my cell phone one day, and asked if I would be interested in not only sharing my life story with just local Californians, but also broadcasting it nationwide to to millions of people throughout America on their show. 

I knew this would be a big deal... but never even imagined how much of an actual impact it would have on actual people.

>>From the time I filmed the episode in Hollywood, to the time I got home to my computer, I opened up my Facebook/Email and I had not one, not one hundred, but THOUSANDS of messages from strangers all over America telling me how much my story had impacted their lives.


Just a few of my favorites-


_______________________________________________________________________________ 
"Hi Britney,
My name  is Carol and I saw you on KUSI a few days ago. From the moment we saw your blonde hair and unforgettable bright personality, my family and I have completely fallen in love with you. We cancelled our plans to watch you on the doctors that night to hear more about your life story. At 5:00pm my grandmother and I sat in front of the TV balling our eyes out as you walked out from back stage after having watched your surgery and learning about your journey that made you who you are today. You’re the most confident and real person I have ever seen. My grandmother told me that she wishes there were more people in the world like you. My family and I wish you all the best in the rest of your journey, and wanted to tell you that I know you’re doing so much for so many children in America. Keep going, and don’t let anyone get in your way. We all look forward to seeing more of you!
Sincerely,
Carol and the Gonzolas family."
________________________________________________________________________________

"Dear Brittany,
You are such a beautiful young woman. You’re only 21 and you have already accomplished so much. Watching your story on The Doctors completely floored me and my co-workers. I work at a law firm, and you came on in the middle of the day on a Doctors show and every single person in my office stopped what they were doing and gathered around the television to watch you speak. After watching you in surgery, we all expected you to come out onto the stage hunched over in a wheel chair with a frown, but our jaws dropped when you and your bright pink outfit, huge smile, blonde hair and incredible attitude glided across the stage like you were Miss America. After all you've been through I was most shocked to hear that if you had the choice to be born without your condition, you wouldn't  You said it changed your life and it happened to you for a reason and even though we don’t know each other I am SO proud of you for showing the world that you can accomplish anything. My entire office fell in love with you from the moment we saw you walk on that stage and if you ever need anything please feel free to call us, we would love to hear more from you and help in any way we can. Brittany you are truly a walking inspiration.
Yours truly, Sarah Bryant"
_________________________________________________________________________________


Dear Brittaney,My daughter is 4 years old and she was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at birth. For 4 years, I worry every day that when it comes time for her to enter public school, that children will tease her and make fun of her too. When she was born, I knew that the rest of her life would be a difficult challenge to take on. I used to cry and cry because I didn't know if I could handle seeing her get hurt (children at that age as you pointed out can be very cruel.) I’m usually not a fan of The Doctors Show, but today when I turned it on I saw your bright eyes and shining smile it was as if God had lead me to the remote. I saw your childhood story and heard you speak about growing up with your condition. I heard you say that you had been teased about your condition as I assume that my daughter will be also. Watching you appear on national television and saying it has made you a stronger person is very unique to hear and it's exactly what I needed to give me the strength to help Sophia (my daughter) grow up. You've grown up to be beautiful and strong having gone through school, and I admire your many accomplishments. When Sophia gets old enough, I will show her your story and pray that someday she will grow up to be a strong and as inspirational as you. God Bless you Brittaney. You have made a big impact on our lives and I hope that perhaps Sophia and I would have the honor of meeting you someday.From, Meing Tzunas 
_____________________________________________________________________________

Hello Britney,
I recently became familiar with your story and I admire you so much for having the strength to not only keep such a positive attitude for yourself throughout your treatments and such, but for inspiring others to stay positive as well.I saw you on "The Doctors" where you said, "some people were born to fit in and be normal but some people were born to stand out and be different, and I think I was one of those people."The truth is, everyone is different, just not everyone shows it. And no matter what differences somebody may have, whether physical or what have you, I think it's so important for them to love who they are, and even embrace whatever it is that sets them apart.If everyone thought in such a way, there would be no judging or teasing or ridiculing another. There would be more acceptance and more understanding.Uniqueness is beauty. And I thank you so much for reminding me of that, and for reminding others of that.
- Mr James Wright
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I sat in front of my computer for HOURS with a box of pink tissues crying my eyes out reading all these messages from people who had seen the episode, and gone out of their way to find me on Facebook/Email to tell me how they could personally relate to my story and wanted me to know.




So yes, to this day I'll still NEVER be normal, and I am NEVER going to fit in... but what I thought was God's curse was actually his wonderful blessing.

I am stronger and more confident than ever. I promote self love, and being you at all costs. Through my health blog, and giving speeches all over California- I will do everything I can to spread the idea that your flaws are what makes you YOU, and that is what makes you beaYOUtiful.





Brittany In The Media:

FOX:


The Doctors:
Hair Backstage
Makeup Back Stage



KUSI News:



CBS






How my Health Blog Began:

After my last operation (where they cracked my upper jaw) I was put on a STRICT diet and could only eat certain foods because my mouth was legitimately wired shut. My doctor told me I had to find a way to keep track of everything I ate, and all of the exercises I progressively began to do with the passing weeks. 

This was around the same time one of my best friends came over and introduced me to Tumblr, so I thought what better way to keep track of my food and exercises that posting it on a health blog that I could not only look at myself, but also give a link to my doctor!

I started out knowing NOTHING about blogging. It took me a week to figure out how to post a picture of an avocado. But since I had taken the semester off of college and couldn't drive or leave the house... I spent weeks figuring things out on my own! 

I could only consume liquids at the beginning, so I started out by posting all the recipes to the fruit smoothies I made everyday. This was a HUGE change to my diet, as I was used to eating foods full of carbs and drinks packed with sugar. 
I soon began to recover, and could eat whatever I wanted... however I was so energized and full of life after being filled with healthy and nutritious fruits from my smoothies, that I didn't want to go back to my macaroni diet!!
I started eating better, and began getting my strength back by doing the "30 Day Shred" workout I found online! 
For the first time I wasn't just skinny, I was FIT and TONED and IT FELT FABULOUS!
 I also became in LOVE with Zumba, and am now considering getting a license to teach it this summer!

I blogged about everything I was doing every day, and before I knew it, 6 months had passed and I had over 5,000 followers reading my posts and following along with me on my Fitspirational journey!

Again, messages began to pour in with questions about the food I was making, my smoothie recipes and just about how I was living my new healthy lifestyle.

Since then, my curiosity about the health world has grown exponentially and I now eat vegetables every day and ALWAYS start my day with a fresh fruit smoothie (no jello included!)

30 Little Things, Get to Know Brittany:


  1. I like to paint my toenails even in the winter when no one can see them
  2. I like my money right where I can see it, hanging in my closet
  3. I've been a Vegetarian my whole life, it was my choice and I am the only one in my whole family who is.
  4. I can do the splits in 3 different directions 
  5. Which is why I play a mean game of Twister
  6. I am NOT a morning person
  7. The fact that it's 2am when I'm typing this may have something to do with that
  8. I have green eyes but they turn BRIGHT blue when I cry
  9. I don't curse
  10. I have a part time job as a Disney Princess at little kid's birthday parties, and I play Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Tinkerbell.
  11. Sometimes I wish I was 3 inches taller
  12. But I put on my high heels when I'm feeling short
  13. I'm a terrible speller, I even confuse Microsoft Word sometimes
  14. Is "speller" a word?
  15. I have deja vu ALL the time
  16. I have deja vu ALL the time
  17. I LOVE Zumba
  18. I'm fluent in Spanish but am 100% caucasian
  19. My car's name is Chad, and he's a fabulous white Mustang convertible
  20. I ruined his leather seats because I like to drive around in the rain with the top down and Taylor Swift on FULL BLAST. Yep, I still do it!
  21. I have a teacup Yorkie named Locket who thinks she's a huge "Great Dane" and that the world revolves around her.
  22. I love Electronic music (dubstep), Country, and almost anything with a bass that you can feel in your soul when you hear it
  23. I have the attention span of a 5 year old
  24. Which is why it took me like 3 days to write this
  25. Brb I think Legally Blonde is on...
  26. It was, I watched it! Snaps for Brittany!
  27. I am Christian, and God is a glowingly huge part of my life
  28. I am really close with my family
  29. My two best friends are my soul.
  30. My boyfriend is a Marine, his name is Bryan and he's the Prince Charming I never knew I needed





Xox Brittany

The Fitspirational Blonde



Oh, I almost forgot! Here's a link to my Health Blog on Tumblr where I got started :)


The-Fitspirational-Blonde.Tumblr.com