10 Grocery Shopping Tips!

Good morning Lovelies!

It's a bright and beautiful Sunday morning and I like to get my grocery shopping for the week done on Sundays after Church! That way, when Monday comes my fridge is nice and stalked up and I'm ready for my healthy week :)

I decided to share my wonderful "grocery shopping tip list" with you, because it's easy to walk in the grocery store and feel like you're lost and have just entered a grocery Wonderland labyrinth.




Brittany's Grocery Shopping Tips:

1. Always go with a list!
2. Shop the perimeter! This typically contains the produce, dairy, meat, deli, and frozen section.
3. Inside the “perimeter” you are more likely to stray: the candy aisle, the juice/drinks aisle, and the snacks aisle are all bad places to buy the majority of your groceries
4. Look for what is on sale & stock up if it’s non-perishable. This will SAVE YOU MONEY!
5. When choosing packaged produce, look at the “Use by” date and choose the longest. Fresher items tend to get put in the back of shelves so customers buy the oldest items first. For example, when I'm buying milk, I always take the milk in the back because it has the newest expiration date.
6. Check all fruits & veggies for bruises, scratches, & mold. Yuck!
7. If you buy in bulk or have a big family, buy frozen petite peas, berries (for smoothies or baking), and bell peppers. They’re always cheaper & there isn’t much difference. I personally like to have fresh fruit in the house at all times, but when I'm a bit busy and haven't had time to the grocery store, I always have those frozen fruits and veggies to fall back on :)
8. Try to not over-buy, know how long each fruit/veggie will last & don’t waste it! Every time one of my avocado's goes bad, I feel like a pet died and I didn't have time to say goodbye (As you can tell, I'm very passionate about my avocados.)
9. Because produce goes off so quickly I try my best to go grocery shopping 1-2 times a week. This is usually what it takes to maintain a healthy lifestyle!
10. Shop at stores that are known for healthy living! My favorite's are Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Fresh and Easy, and as I said before your local Farmers Market.

Now it's up to you, these will REALLY help you if you actually APPLY them next time you're at the store!

To see my personal Grocery List, click here

Xox Brittany,

The Fitspirational Blonde

Surround Yourself With Things That Motivate You.

I don’t know what it is about PINK fitness gear and clothes that just makes me want to JUMP up and start running around the block with a smile on my face.

This may explain the fact that:

• I own 6 PINK sports bras 
• My running shoes are PINK 
• My weights are PINK
• My water bottle is PINK
• ...and I’m not even going to talk about my underwear collection on here (but it’s Pink too.)

What can I say, I like to surround myself with things that motivate me to do what I love!!

Xox Brittany

The Fitspirational Blonde

Difference between BUTTER and MARGARINE (Oh my gosh EW!!)

My mom emailed me this, this morning (since she knows I LOVE learning anything/everything about nutrition) and IT WAS SO SCARY AND DISGUSTING I WILL NEVER EAT MARGARIN AGAIN!

My mom saved the day, and yours too!

After you read this, you too will never eat margarin again. I guarantee you!

Read on to the end...gets very interesting!

BUTTER:

• Butter is created from cream which rises to the top of milk if it sits for a period of time. Through the process of churning the cream, a chemical reaction takes place which makes the cream begin to solidify.
• Butter is an excellent source of vitamins A, D, E, and K. None of these fat-soluble vitamins are found in margarine.
• The best quality butter is made from certified raw cream. Certified raw butter is made up of healthy fatty acids.
• Toxic metals or trans-fat is not found in butter.
• It is a dairy product, but is actually easy to digest to even the most dairy sensitive people. Butter doesn’t contain milk sugar or milk protein which are the main allergens found in dairy products.
• Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.
• Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few and only because they are added! 

And now, for MARGARINE:

• Very High in Trans fatty acids.
• Triples risk of coronary heart disease
• Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol) 
• Increases the risk of cancers up to five times
• Lowers quality of breast milk 
• Decreases immune response.
• Decreases insulin response. 

And here's the most disturbing fact... HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING! 

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC... and shares 27 ingredients with PAINT.

BUT WAIT IT GETS WORSE:

Open a tub of margarine and leave it open in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will notice a couple of things:

1. No flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something)
2. It does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value ; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not a find a home to grow.

Why? Because it is nearly plastic . Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

I hope this got you thinking about the food you put in your body. Just because you buy something at the store DOESN'T mean that it  has any nutritional value whatsoever! 

The people who create these foods could care less about your health. 

But I do. So I hope you read this and will pass it on so the people who follow YOU will choose butter over Margarine too.

Have a healthy and Fabulous day <3

Xox Brittany 

The Fitspirational Blonde

Dancing the night away with Carlton (Fresh Prince)

I gave a speech at a Charity Event, and he happened to be sitting in the audience. After I finished giving the speech about my life story, the audience was brought to tears and he came up to my table and asked me to dance!

Speech^

WHO WOULD TURN DOWN

DANCING WITH CARLTON WHEN

HE HAS DANCE MOVES LIKE THIS:

It was a magical night to say the least. I feel so 

blessed to have these absolutely incredible 

opportunities! 

Xox Brittany

The Fitspirational Blonde

Guess what time it is? THAI TIME!!

I just finished working a Princess Party (it's one of my part time jobs) (today I was Cinderella at little Baily's 6th birthday party.)

Rather than resulting to the eating the typical party food (pizza) I waited to see what I could find around the area that was a bit more healthy and I LUCKED OUT!!! I found a Thai restaurant right down the street and they had my favorite dish, "tofu spicy noodles"!

"Table for 1 fabulous blonde" I said (okay minus the fabulous blonde part,) and they sat me down at my own private booth by the window.

I literally sat at my little booth at this Thai restaurant taking pictures of myself holding the plate for a good 5 minutes. The waiter thought I was hilarious and even jumped in a few of them and insisted that I email them to him.



I wouldn't be surprised if next time I come back, there is a framed picture of us next to my booth!

After I was done with my Tofu Spicy Noodle photo shoot with myself (and my hilarious asian waiter), I took my first bite.

I had asked for a "4" on the spicy scale of 1-10... and I guess he had either misheard me, or their "spicy scales" were NOT made for white girls. When I took my first bite IT WAS SO SPICY, I swear I had steam coming out of my ears.

I had to blow on it since it was not only spicy but hot in temperature even after my tofu-shoot. >>

Instead of sending it back, I decided to just tough it out and ordered a HUGE glass of water. What a great way to get my full 8 glasses in today right?

I took another look at my dish and realized how healthy it was: with the spinach, side salad, orange slices, and tons of tofu and just HAD to blog about it.



Health Benefits of Tofu:
(Excuse my awkward little hand pointing at the tofu)

As you all know, I've been a vegetarian my whole life so I've had to get creative with the way I get protein in my diet.

The health benefits of tofu as a meat substitute are numerous. Consuming tofu regularly helps lower bad cholesterol, alleviates symptoms associated with menopause and even lowers the risk of cancer. Other major health benefits of tofu compared to meat include making middle-aged bones stronger and delaying the ravages of age. Tofu has been found to be a great source of calcium and vitamin E as well. 

The only difference between tofu and meat protein is that you have to eat more tofu to meet the recommended dietary protein levels. In fact, every 100 g of tofu yields approximately 17.19 g of protein. To get the protein benefit of 150 g of lean meat, you should consume 290 g of tofu.

So don't forget no matter where you go to eat there is always some sort of healthy protein you can fit in, even if you're a vegetarian like me!

Xox Brittany

The Fitspirational Blonde

Messy Buns, Tissues and Sweatpants....

Yes... it's happened.... I'M SICK!!!


*As I sneeze and accidentally knock over my water bottle*

Despite ALL my efforts to eat healthy, take vitamins, exercise daily, and avoid EVERYONE who is sick (or even thinks about coughing in my direction)... I still caught something!!! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!?!

Maybe I have a weak immune system.

Maybe I shouldn't have gone dancing around in the rain this weekend pretending I was Gene Kelly in the movie "Singing in the Rain".

Or maybe this is bad Karma for taking up one two three parking spaces yesterday at Starbucks...

Well what ever the reason is; the "Flu God's" have officially found me hiding in my large luxurious closet, and have smacked me upside the head with a sore throat and fever.

5 boxes of tissues, 4 glasses of water, 3 trips to the grocery store (for Gatorade and more tissues), 2 angry/congested nostrils and 1 BIG FAT HAIRY MESSY BUN on the top of my little blonde head.
(sorry there will be no partridge in a pear tree in this post; he got to close to my window, caught my cold and flew away)


Not to be dramatic but.... I'M MISERABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IF I HAVE TO EAT ONE MORE CUP OF SOUP, I'M GOING TO THROW SOMETHING OUT THE WINDOW!

Elle Woods can make anything better

Anyway, instead of doing what I usually do when I get sick (lounging around being grumpy watching legally blonde over and over while consuming ridiculously large quantities of chocolate) (while subconsciously  thinking about all the things I should be doing instead of lounging around being grumpy watching legally blonde over and over while consuming ridiculously large quantities of chocolate) This time I decided to push the tissues aside, and do some research on how to get better as fast as possible!!

So after 2 hours of messing around in other peoples blogs, and ripping Google to shreds, this is what I've found the most helpful.

REMEMBER THESE TIPS NEXT TIME YOU GET SICK!

In this midst of my research I got a kick out of stumbling upon a website that was literally called "www.howtogetridofacoldfast.org" No subtlety there, I love it!

This website had TONS of great tips on getting better fast, which was exactly what I was looking for!

1.) Drink TONS of water!!!! When your body is sick, it gets dehydrated really easily. Think about it like you're using the water to flush out all the gross sick germs inside of you. Better in then out right?!!
Side Note: Make sure you're going to be near a bathroom for a few hours when you do this one... you wouldn't want your body to miraculously turn into Niagara Falls when you're at the grocery store and can't find anyone with a key to the bathroom. It would be embarrassing to be the reason for the "Clean up on isle six!!" << Best to try and avoid that from happening.

2.) Eat Right! "When you are already afflicted with cold, it is imperative that you maintain a diet which is most easy on your system. This would include foods such as greens, salads and so on, and therefore, would NOT include foods which are way too oily or greasy. Remember that the more food you consume which is fatty and greasy, the more your body will have to work on digesting the same, taking away precious resources which have otherwise been working very hard on fending off the cold that you are already suffering from."  Eat like you're trying to fit into your wedding gown for next month that is just a little to small for you! Don't eat less, eat SMART! Also, Salads are known for cleansing your system, I'd stock up on some lovely greens :) Also maximize your intake of soups! If you're a vegetarian like me, get creative with your soups try vegetable soup there are TONS of alternatives out there for you.

Garlic is also known for helping get rid of colds! Italian anyone?! Yes please!

3.) Sleep a LOT! Pretend your a bear, hibernate! When you leep your body gets a chance to focus on healing itself. The more you sleep, the quicker you heal and the faster you're ready to get back to your "flu free" life.

4.) Zinc- One of the best things you can take to get rid of your cold quick; it has special anti-cold properties. Use it for a few days, it comes in tablets, nasal sprays (I don't recommend that one) as well as in liquid form. One time at my Grandmas house when I was younger, my grandma made my friend and I stick zinc nasal swabbs up our noses... it actually helped in the long run but I promised myself I'd NEVER do that again, being sick was better than sticking a swab up my nose! EW

5.) Tea- Chamomile tea is a pretty great tea to try out, it's a superlative agent for fighting off colds especially if you're already sick.

Ok guys that's it for today, i'm off to Whole Foods Market to grab some Zinc (BUT NOT THE NOSE SWABS) Tea and healthy foods :)

Hope everyone is staying healthy out there!

Xox Brittany

Early Morning Heat Yoga!

If you've been following me for long enough, you KNOW I'm FAR from a morning person, but I think I've finally found the motivation to get my lazy blonde butt out of bed early!

HEAT YOGA!!

My best friend found a GREAT deal at our local Yoga Studio for one free week of Heat yoga!

I'm really into trying new things lately, and this was definitely an INCREDIBLE new thing to try. If you've never taken or heard of heat yoga before, it's where you literally do yoga in a room that's REALLY hot.

Your body sweats out a lot of its toxins and it's SO good for not only your body, but also your mind because it helps you relax and leave your life at the door for an hour :)

Yesterday at 7:15am was my VERY FIRST heat yoga class with my bff, and of course we accidentally picked the HARDEST class in the whole studio.

About 1/2 way through the class, I felt like I was going to DIE and the whole class looked like we had JUST jumped into a swimming pool together from all the sweat! Gross right? 

Then I remembered this quote by Jillian Michaels... so I kept going anyway!

After it was over though (and after a REALLY long shower) I felt AMAZING! Refreshed didn't even begin to describe how I felt. The hot suffering was worth it and the best part was it was only 8:15am and I had got my morning workout out of the way already!

Getting up early is definitely going to be a new fabulous habit that everyone should try... but don't do it because you HAVE to... Do it because YOU WANT TO!!



Xox Brittany,

A-Fitspirational-Blonde

31 Ways To Motivate Yourself to Exercise!

Hey Ladies, we ALL have those days where we just don't feel like getting up and exercising and can't seem to find the motivation to get up off the couch (or off Tumblr haha) to actually exercise!

Here are some fabulous tips I found on Zenhabts.com that I thought would help you guys too :)

There are a million ways to motivate yourself to exercise, actually, but these are a few that have worked for me. And trust me, I’ve had days when I’ve struggled with exercise. Most recently, the things that have helped include finding a workout partner (one of the best motivators!), logging my exercise, reading magazines, books and websites, and rewarding myself.

1. How you feel after a workout. I always feel great after a good workout. It’s a high. And I let that motivate me the next time: “You know how good you’re going to feel, Leo!”
2. Time for you. While many people make time to take care of others (kids, spouse, other family, co-workers, boss), they don’t often make time to take care of themselves. Instead, make your “you” time a priority, and don’t miss that exercise appointment.
3. Calories burned. If you count calories (and it’s really one of the most effective ways to lose weight), you know that the more you exercise, the more calories you burn — and the bigger your calorie deficit.
4. Having fun. Exercise should be fun. If it isn’t, try a different kind of activity that you enjoy. As long as you’re moving, it’s good for you.
5. How you’re going to look. Imagine a slimmer, fitter you. Now let that visualization drive you.
6. Magazines. It motivates me to read fitness magazines. Not sure why, but it works.
7. Cover models. Sure, they’re genetically freaky, and probably Photoshopped to look perfect. But for some reason, looking at how good a cover model looks helps motivate me to work harder.
8. Blogs. I enjoy reading blogs about people who are into running, or losing weight. It can show the ups and downs they go through, and you can learn from their experiences.
9. Success stories. I find the success stories of others incredibly inspirational. If a fitness website has success stories, I’ll almost always read them.
10. Forums. Do the monthly challenge on the Zen Habits forums, or join another forum full of like-minded or like-goaled peopled. Check in daily. It really helps.
11. Rewards. If you exercise for a few days, give yourself a reward! A week? Another reward. Do it often in the beginning.
12. Fitting into new clothes. Wanna look good in a smaller size? Work out!
13. Being attractive. That’s always a good motivator, as I’m sure we all know. Edited to correct language.
14. Adrenaline rush. I get a rush when I exercise. Ride that rush to complete the workout.
15. Stress relief. Wound up after a long day at the office? Get out and work off that stress. It makes a world of difference.
16. Time for contemplation. I love, love the quiet time of exercise for thinking about things. Most of this post was written in my head as I exercised.
17. A workout partner. Best thing I’ve done.
18. An exercise class. Sign up for a class, perhaps with a friend, and you’ll be motivated to get there and work out.
19. A coach or trainer. Worth the money, just for the motivation.
20. An exercise log/graph. For some reason, writing it down is extremely important. Really. Do it for a week and you’ll see what I mean.
21. Your before picture. You often don’t realize how far you’ve come. Take pictures.
22. A 5K race or triathlon. Just sign up for one, and you’ll be motivated to train.
23. The dread of feeling “yuck” from not exercising. I hate how I feel after not exercising. So I remind myself of that when I feel tired.
24. Living long enough to see your grandkids … and play with them.
25. The scale. It’s not motivating to weigh yourself every day, as your weight fluctuates. But if you weigh yourself once a week, you’ll be motivated to have it keep going down, instead of up. Combine the scale with the measuring tape, and measure your waist.
26. Reaching a goal. Set a goal for weight, or your waist measurement, or a number of days to work out, or a number of miles to run this week. Setting and tracking a goal helps motivate you to complete that goal. Make it easily achievable.
27. Posting it on your blog. Tell people you’re going to lose weight or exercise daily, and report to them. You’ll make it happen.
28. Motivational quotes. I like to print them out or put them on my computer desktop.
29. Books. I just bought a strength-training book as a reward. It makes me want to hit the weights!
30. Others commenting on how good you look. When someone notices the changes in your body, it feels good. And it makes you want to work out more.
31. An upcoming day at the beach, or a reunion. Nuff said.

Hope everyone has an incredible workout today now!

Love you all!

Xox Brittany

A-Fitspirational-Blonde

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

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

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