Try Something New: Pure Barre with Blog & Tweet Boston (Plus a Powerful Message of the Day)

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I’m a huge fan of trying new workouts, challenging yourself and most importantly finding that exercise that makes you shine (you know, makes you feel beautiful, strong and confident in your body!) After all, that’s what FitFluential means to me.

So when I was invited by Jen and Kerrie from Blog & Tweet Boston to attend a complimentary class a Pure Barre Boston yesterday afternoon, I jumped on the opportunity! While I have taken barre-style classes before through Core Fusion at Exhale Spa, I have  never tried Pure Barre so I was excited to see what was in store!

Pure Barre recently opened their new Boston studio at 350 Newbury Street, which is a prime location for anything & everything fitness and health if I do say so myself. (Side note: sweetgreen will be located just a walk away right by Copley Station, scheduled to launch in June. Boston foodie & fitness peeps, I know you are going to fall in love. You can read all about my new job at sweetgreen here!)

The first thing I noticed upon walking in was the beautiful space: clean, fresh with lots of natural light. Plus, they have lockers and keys … Read More!

Sneak Peak Inside My Kitchen Pantry: NuttZo Omega 3 Seven Nut & Seed Butter

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Good afternoon lovely ladies and Happy Sunday! Hope you all stayed warm & safe during the Blizzard. As for me, I escaped to our condo in Waterville Valley, N.H with the family for a weekend of snowshoeing, card-playing, unplugging and wining & dining.

New Hampshire is one of my favorite places to unplug, relax and simply appreciate the beauty in nature. I also love spending quality time with my family and The Boy without any distractions from the outside world. Oh, and one of our favorite activities: eating good food. Last night, I enjoyed Salmon Oscar-style from the Woodstock Inn Brewery, which was topped with asparagus and a decadent Béarnaise sauce, served with mashed butternut squash and steamed broccoli. I have no words!

NuttZo: A Jar Full of Love

Speaking of good food, I’ve totally been loving NuttZo, an Omega-3 packed Seven Nut & Seed butter. If you didn’t already know, I’m totally nuts about nuts, nut butters and seeds for that matter (love my flax!) So when I received a jar of NuttZo  to sample myself, I was ecstatic to try a new brand of one of my favorite “condiments.” There’s no better time than Valentine’s … Read More!

Healthy ChickLit: Be Thankful

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As hard as it may be to do so, I think it’s vital to focus on the feel-goods in your life every day. At the beginning and the end of the day, I try to find a few things that I’m thankful for or blessed to have. They can be the little things, like being able to run 3 miles bundled up in the cold (even when you’d rather stay in bed) or the big things: the life-changing things.

Often this comes up during health coaching, when women feel as though they aren’t “enough” or could be doing “better.” I try to re-shift their thoughts and remind them of all the wonderful achievements they already have, to focus on all of the good (that you showed up for yoga, your glorious family, the home-cooked, nutritious meal you made for your boyfriend) and let go of all of the “bad” (that you skipped the gym, that your thighs are too big, that you didn’t get what you wanted.)

Things I am thankful right now:

That my dad survived a bad car crash the other night on the highway, even though the car was totaled: He spun out on ice … Read More!

What FitFluential Means to Me: The Inside Scoop from a FitFluential Ambassador

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As I’ve mentioned before here on Healthy Chicks (and as I’m sure you can tell by the badge on the right), I am a proud FitFluential Ambassador. If you haven’t checked out the FitFluential community before, which was founded by Fitness Rockstar Kelly Olexa, I strongly suggest you do so over here.

While FitFluential is packed with an amazing group of like-minded enthusiasts sharing their passion for wellness every hour on the hour, today I wanted to share with you what “FitFluential” means to me. More specifically, my very own definition of living a “healthy lifestyle.”

Discovering an Exercise Routine that Makes you Shine

[Move100 Campaign; Photo Cred: Move100.org]

Just like there is no Perfect Man for every woman, there is no perfect exercise that works for everyone. In fact, I don’t believe in rules or perfection at all.

Some live for CrossFit and Pilates, while others feel their best by doing yoga and running. Some spin 6 days a week, while others enjoy being one with nature and going for long hikes with loved ones.

The point is, it’s not going to work for you unless you enjoy it. Find the exercises that make you … Read More!

Healthy ChickLit: Just Move

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Today’s ChickLit: Take time every day to MOVE, even if it’s just taking your dog for a brisk winter walk or dancing in your PJs.

We all know exercise is good for our health, and can help reduce the risk of developing heart disease and other serious health concerns. However, to me, exercise is much more than that.

It’s about movement, clarity, motivation and feel-good energy (you know, that thing called endorphins). While usually I like to sleep in on Saturdays, today I woke up (sorta) early for an a.m. Hatha yoga class at my local gym.

Not only did it feel good to stretch, strengthen and challenge my body, but it gave me an incredible rush of energy and “happy hormones.”

So even if you don’t have time to run 7 miles or take part in a kickboxing class, make time for something, anything that’s going to get you moving.

As we like to say over at FitFluential: #MOVE #GETAFTERIT

How can you make more time to move? If you need a little boost to get started, check out my “From Oy Vey to OK in 30 Days” Health Coaching Program, individually catered to Y-O-U. I work Read More!

WellnessFX: Healthy Insights, Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

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[“You Can Only Improve What You Measure”]

WellnessFX: What It’s All About

As you all know, I try to maintain a healthy lifestyle, both taking care of myself on the inside and out. I’ve always been a firm believer that what’s going on inside is just as (or even more) important than what’s happening on the outside. That’s why many people are sick or facing health roadblocks and may not even know it because they feel perfectly “fine,” or at least what they think is “fine.”

When I was introduced to WellnessFX, a web-based platform designed to produce deep insights into the state of your health all through a blood test, I knew it was up my alley. Who knew you could learn so much about what’s going on inside your body all through a few drops of blood? Pretty interesting, huh?

The Prep Work

First, I visited the WellnessFX website (which couldn’t be easier to navigate) and signed up for their Baseline Package. This option included:

  • A blood draw at a lab near you
  • 20-minute health consultation with practitioner of choice
  • Personalized lab results loaded into your WellnessFX dashboard
  • Satisfaction guaranteed (now that’s service with a smile!)

Since … Read More!

Random Thoughts from a Rainy, Friday Afternoon

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Happy Friday ladies! As I sit here finishing up some work in Starbucks, many thoughts are flowing through my head. I’m not sure you know this about me, but I am always thinking. I mean always, always. What can I say? I’m a girl of many (sometimes crazy) ideas. Here’s what’s going through my mind on this rainy Friday afternoon:

-There is a older man sitting next to me at Starbucks who has been writing on a napkin for the past hour. When I glanced over (I swear I’m not nosy) I saw that both sides of the napkin are completely covered with teeny-tiny scribbled handwriting. The hopeless romantic inside me likes to think he is writing a love letter to a long lost woman from his past.

-This grande medium roast with one pump of pumpkin may just be the perfect pick-me-up for a rainy, dreary day

-What if our dreams could be recorded and transformed into movies? Seriously, between my boyfriend and I, I think we’d be famous. But then again, would we really want to replay some of those dreams?

-There’s only two (plus some) months left until Christmas. When is it too early to watch Love Read More!

5K PR & An Apple (Fritter) A Day…

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This morning, my family head down to Niantic, CT to run the Half Marathon/5K road race. Since I will be running a half marathon in three weeks from today, I decided to take it easy by doing the 5K this time around.

Well, I guess I didn’t really take it easy after all; I ended up crushing my 5k PR by over a minute at a brisk 25:37. It’s hard to believe that I completed my first 5K just about fives years ago in over 33 minutes!

Someone on twitter had asked me how I knocked over a minute off my time, or what I was doing differently. Honestly, it’s all mental for me. These past couple months of half marathon training have taught me that I can push myself in ways I never thought I could. I can do it. I can run faster. I also give props to the amazing community online, including all the fellow Fitfluential ambassadors. Seriously, can you get more inspired than that?

I was super proud of my PR, but even more proud of my mom who ran her very first 5K for the entire distance. My dad, sister, cousin and her husband … Read More!