1 Week Exercise Challenge: Monday

Today is New Year's Eve and that means eating out and consuming alcohol. But this year I am going to change that.

Sometimes you can't escape eating out when you are with friends and family, but that doesn't mean you can't still make healthy choices! Make sure when eating out, you pick something on the menu with some colour (fruits and vegetables). When everything on your plate is one colour of beige, that is a sign that your meal is lacking nutrients. The more colours you have on your plate, the healthier it will be. Think red, yellow, orange, and especially green.

This morning I continued my exercise regimen with yoga. I used Jillian Michael's Yoga Meltdown DVD and tried level 2. This video is a great all over body workout. I feel a little bit stronger now! Because I feel great after my workout, I am more likely to eat healthier. My body is now craving the nutrients it needs. Therefore, I will be much more aware of what I eat tonight.

As for the alcohol, I have decided to drive tonight so that I am forced to keep myself away from the drinks. Many alcoholic beverages such as beer have an extremely high calorie count and should really be taken out of your diet if you're striving for a healthier lifestyle. I may have a glass of champagne at midnight, but that's it!

Have a great night and stay safe!

1 Week Exercise Challenge! Sunday

Now that the holidays are almost over, it's time to get back into a routine and get rid of that turkey weight. What's the best way to do that? Exercise of course! 

I woke up today feeling horrible and not wanting to do much of anything but I pushed myself towards my favourite exercise DVD Killer Buns and Thighs by Jillian Michaels. If you are not in the mood to work out I suggest just putting an exercise DVD on and turning it up loud enough so you can hear it from almost any room in your house. This always works for me. If you can hear it you will most likely start to feel guilty and give in. 

After working my butt off for a good half-hour, I felt so much better! It has inspired me to do a 1 week fitness challenge and I want you to join me! 

I have started on a Sunday because for me, that is the first day of the week and it is much easier to track your progress if you start at the beginning of the week than in the middle. 

It is important that you have at least one goal that you want to achieve before the end of the week (Saturday). If you do not have a goal then there isn't any point in doing this challenge, right? Here are my goals:

1. Able to do 20 full push ups by Saturday

2. Have my legs, glutes, and arms noticeably more toned by Saturday

3. Feel more energized by Saturday

Today I worked on level 2 of Killer Buns and Thighs and it was the first time I got through the whole workout! I even had enough energy to try a few push ups. 

Start the challenge today and push yourself to achieve your goals. It will be mentally and physically exhausting the first couple days, but the object of the game is to feel much more energized by the end of the week and hopefully I will be able to continue a routine afterwards! 

Good luck and have fun with it!

Does it Work: Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yes, they work! 

I recently tried this recipe for Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies . I was a bit skeptical, but they turned out great! I believe the original recipe uses Double Stuffed Oreos, but I could't find any at the store. Regular Oreos are just as good and still make these cookies extremely filling. You won't need more than 1!  Happy Baking:)

How to Wrap Gifts Without Using Bags!

I had three gifts for someone that were different sizes and wanted to wrap them in some way that looked beautiful and more meaningful than shoving them all in a bag. This was the end result. It looks incredibly time consuming, but fortunately it's not! It's actually quite simple. 

Decorative boxes from Homesense are actually affordable and they make any gift look like a million bucks! 

The black box on the bottom of the pyramid of gifts, luckily came with the gift inside. The box in the middle was only about $4.99 from Homsense. I saved some even more money by wrapping the gift on the very top with beautiful green wrapping paper that picked up on accents in the box in the middle.

The whole thing was then tied together with a gold christmas ribbon for practical reasons and visual interest. 

Even if your gifts are relatively the same size, or an awkward shape, you can use this technique to wrap them. 

For gifts of the same size, find one box that fits them perfectly. Next find a box that is slightly bigger and stuff tissue paper inside the box so that the gift doesn't move around and fits snug. Lastly, find one more box that is slightly bigger than the middle box and repeat with the tissue paper. You can keep repeating these steps if you have more than three gifts. Finish with the ribbon. Your gifts will look beautiful and more interesting than having them all wrapped the same size. You can use these steps with awkward shaped gifts as well.