Health & Wellness

It All Starts with Love (Not Weight Loss)

5 Comments / Health & Wellness, Lifestyle /

Alright, I’m about to get real REAL over here on the blog. While I absolutely love all my fellow fitness professionals, coaches, yogis, etc. out there, I think lately there’s been a bit of a mixup when it comes to the whole body love thing.

Here me out. I see a lot of this:

“I lost those stubborn 15 pounds, and was able to finally love my body!”

“Work with me so you can lose the weight and then feel proud of who you are when you look in the mirror!”

“Look at my body!!!”

I also see a sh*t-ton of “body selfies.” And girl, more power to you if you’re able to get that 6-pack or you love the way your arms look when you flex. But is that really what it’s all about?

Is this really depicting body love?

Personally, I think we’ve got it all backwards.

For me, I wasn’t able to lose the weight (let alone transform my skewed relationship with food) until I gained some self-respect. I could run for miles & miles, and nosh on kale all day, and still look in the mirror and think I was fat.

You see, it wasn’t until … Read More!

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Then & Now: My Personal Journey Toward Finally Discovering Peace in My Body

5 Comments / Health & Wellness /

The photo on the left is me right after graduating college. At the time, I weighed myself roughly 5 times a day, counted every calorie I put into my mouth, and ate mostly bland diet food.

I didn’t want to gain any more weight, and I constantly told myself I wasn’t good enough, pretty enough or skinny enough. (Note: this did nothing for my physical or mental health!)

I was self-conscious, afraid, living in fear.

Flash-forward 6 years, and I’m still the same girl but the only thing that’s shifted is my MINDSET. I don’t own a scale, and the last time I weighed myself was at the doctor’s office. The number meant nothing to me.

I don’t even care to look at the calories, as what I care most about is the ingredients and what it is that I’m putting into my body. I eat according to what my body wants & needs; some days this is kale salads, green smoothies and roasted veggies, and sometimes it’s a juicy cheeseburger, slice of homemade pizza or some decadent dark chocolate.

I listen. I breathe. I allow my body to feel different things. I am happy. I am content. I am

… Read More!

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Dear Body: In Case You Forgot, Your Are Perfectly Perfect Just As You Are

2 Comments / Health & Wellness /

Last month, I got really fed up with all the “Get Beach Body Ready!” stuff in the media and on the internet, so I decided to run a 21-day Beach Body Confidence Program.

Each day, the group was given a motivating mantra, lesson/challenge to to focus on and a journaling activity. It was a blast, and all the ladies were such a pleasure to work with!

At the end of the program one of the woman posted this message to our Facebook Group:

“Truly had some beach confidence today. Guess what I did? Sat out at the pool with a girlfriend wearing shorts and a SPORTS BRA. That’s right – let my belly soak up some sun with nothing covering it. Truly a first for me. And you know what? No one laughed or pointed or asked me to cover up.”

My eyes welled up with tears, and my heart instantly overflowed with joy + gratitude. I was so proud of her.

Why?

Because you are beach body ready.

Your body is beautiful…as you are.

You don’t have to hide or cover up anything…it’s your body!

You don’t need to do/fix/change anything in order to be seen as otherwise. … Read More!

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11 Valuable Takeaways from The Art of Living Happiness Program (To Bring Into Your Daily Life)

7 Comments / Health & Wellness, Lifestyle /

Last week, I took part in “The Happiness Program,” a  5-day meditation course run through the Art of Living Foundation. It was quite a whirlwind of an experience, filled with 24+ hours of breathing, meditating, team-building, yoga, and even an impromptu “Iron Chef” cooking competition!

At times, I was exhausted, uplifted, emotional, and energized, and I left the whole thing feeling incredibly enlightened. While I learned a great deal about meditation (like how to practice Pranayama breathing and the art of the Kriya), I think the most valuable of all were the little lessons I picked up along the way that I can take into my daily life. Alas, I want to share with you — my beautiful readers and friends — some of the advice I took away!

1. Talk Less, Listen More: Are you listening? You know, I mean really listening? I know for me, listening doesn’t come as natural as talking does. Often times, I find myself thinking of what I am going to say next or in my own head when someone else is talking (which not only is rude, but also takes away from being in the present. )

During the course, … Read More!

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Shake Up Your Fitness Routine this Summer at Chestnut Hill’s The Street (+ A Giveaway)

21 Comments / Health & Wellness /

You know I love a good sweat sesh just as much as the next girl. And with my recent departure from the corporate world, budgeting in the Bean has been my saving grace (in all aspects of my life.) From lifestyle to fitness to grocery shopping, I’m all about keeping my bills low while living it up (even if this means walking to my favorite coffee shop instead of taking the T to enjoy my java!)

So when I found out that The Street in Chestnut Hill was starting up a free summer fitness series, I was sold in a hot second. All summer long, The Street will host complimentary workouts on the green, ranging from yoga to bootcamp. (Fun fact: they’ll even be offering baby bootcamp for you mommas!) And I’m all about shaking it up…variety is the spice of life after all!

If this sounds up your alley (which I’m sure it does!) you’ll want to save the date for THIS Saturday morning June 27th for Street Sweat x Lexi’s Clean Kitchen.

Come get your sweat on from 10:30-11:30am with MOVE Fitness, then join other wellness-nuts for an after party at lululemon athletica. You’ll sample … Read More!

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Listening to Your Body + SUP Yoga

Leave a Comment / Health & Wellness /

What does listening to your body mean to you?

To me, listening to your body is getting to a place where you can surrender to the “should’s” and let it be. It’s doing what feels right for you, even if it’s not the “right” answer. It’s trusting in yourself to take risks, move in ways you didn’t think you could and quieting any negative thoughts your ego may be shouting at you.

Listening to your  body surely is a process and certainly not something that one can ‘master” overnight. In fact, I think it’s all one big journey we’re constantly learning + growing upon.

Last weekend, I was given the opportunity to try Stand Up Paddle-boarding (SUP) Yoga for the first time with my rockin’ aunt Tiggy on Fisher’s Island. (You can read more about it here via her article on MindBodyGreen)

As someone who has never even stepped foot on an SUP, quite frankly doing yoga on top of that kind of scared the crap out of me. My ego was questioning this big-time…

What if I fall off?

What if I can’t find my balance?

What if I fail miserably?

What if you downright suck at it?

To … Read More!

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Summer + Beach Body Confidence Program

4 Comments / Health & Wellness /

Summer.

What do you think about when you hear that word? More importantly, how does it make you feel?

In all honestly, summer actually used to bring quite a bit of anxiety for me. I absolutely hated my body, and slipping into a bikini was my absolute worst nightmare. (Thank goodness for baggy shorts + towels!)

I’d pass on invites to cocktail hours and Mexican night because I was afraid I’d gain weight, and I’d weigh myself up to 3 times a day just hoping the number on the scale would go down.

Only problem was no matter how many times I pinched my thigh fat, kicked the scale, or started yet another diet, my weight stayed the same (or went up!) and my confidence always went down, down, down. So much for the season of love, beach parties and summer fun!

Sound familiar? Oh trust me, I’ve been there girlfriend.

But is this really the way you want to feel? Didn’t think so. While for the most part I’ve overcome these body woes, they can still creep up when least expected. Fortunately, I’ve now learned how to tackle these feelings like champ (instead of let them eat away … Read More!

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NBGNO Recap: BOOTY + ARM READY

3 Comments / Health & Wellness /

If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you probably recall my involvement last summer in New Balance’s Girls Night Out campaign, a night for women to socialize, sweat and have fun with their girlfriends! Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to return as a host for June’s GNO event, and I couldn’t have been more honored to dive in.

We all met at the New Balance Boston Experience Store in Back Bay to kick off the evening, and were served Essentia Water (thank goodness, it was a hot one!) and delish homemade granola bars upon our arrival.

[eek, that’s my name on there, minus the extra “R” ;)]

When I got there, I was immediately greeted by the lovely staff at Regan and New Balance, and then head straight to the back to get my TribeTats on before the girls arrived. I was super thrilled to have them as one of the sponsors, as I absolutely LOVE what their company is all about — self-expression + empowerment, baby! While all the tats were super cute (decisions, decisions!), I decided on the gold feather as they’ve always been super meaningful in my life. To me, they symbolize strength and … Read More!

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NBGNO EVENT ANNOUCEMENT: BOOTY + ARM READY

2 Comments / Health & Wellness /

Boston ladies, summer is here (well almost) and it’s time to embrace the beauty of the season! And what screams summer like cocktails, bumpin’ beats, movement, and spending the night mingling + laughing with your best gal pals?

Fortunately you can do all of that and more at Boston’s next New Balance Girls Night Out event! Find all the important deets below. Oh, and did I mention I’ll be hosting again? 😉

WHO: You! Grab your best gal pals or show up solo to make some new friends for summer…is there really a better way to kick off the season? I’ll be the host of the evening — you can find me all mic’d up likely wearing my NB fresh foams! And New Balance Ambassador + bad-ass Sarah Kusch will be leading you in a booty + arm workout like no other. Get ready to sweat!

WHAT: The theme of the night is “Booty + Arm Ready.” Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a fitness model or have arms sculpted like the celebs to join in on the fun. In fact, it’s quite the contrary! To me, “booty + arm ready” has much more to do with your … Read More!

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Fit2Fly Healthy Travel Tips {+ A Giveaway}

49 Comments / Health & Wellness, Lifestyle /

When I first graduated college, my dream was to become a big-shot NYC magazine editor. I envisioned myself running around on assignments, traveling and living the highlife. I also remember being super envious of my friends who scored jobs where they could travel. Visiting different cities? Spending the night in swanky hotel rooms? Room service? I wanted a piece of that glamorous life.

Needless to say, little-old-me took a different path, and in doing so my old aspirations began to shift. And while I do have to travel from time-to-time for work, I quickly realized how not-so-glamourous the whole 24/7 travel thing can be. Along with room service + first class seating also comes added pressure, lack of sleep, and the struggles of finding something healthy to eat on-the-go. Not to mention, traveling can also be downright stressful.

Do wellness + traveling really go hand-in-hand?

Maybe not traditionally, but over the years I’ve gathered little tips ‘n’ tricks to bring back that “glamour” (+fun!) to traveling once again, while still making healthy choices to boot. After all, there’s no reason to compromise your own wellbeing for flying points — so why not do both. With Fit2Fly week approaching (more … Read More!

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