August has been a whirlwind of a month for me. I joined the SheBreathes team (I’ll be teaching a Journaling Class + will be available for 1:1 health coaching), got settled into our new apartment, stood by my dear friend’s side at her wedding in Virginia, and traveled to Greece to watch my soul sister marry the love of her life sea-side in the beautiful village of Eressos.

As we prepare to transition into fall (my favorite season!) and close out the month, I wanted to share with you some of my August obsessions. Here are some things I’ve been crushing on big-time lately:

CLARY CALM ESSENTIAL OIL BLEND

Where has this been all my life? I’m absolutely in love with this essential oil blend, and use it quite often. This monthly blend for women works to keep hormones in check, and minimize those not-so-fun symptoms. During that time of the month (which also happened to be while I was traveling!), I rubbed it on my belly and on my pressure points…and NO cramps. I kid you not, this is the first time I didn’t have to take Midol for my discomfort. Lady friends, get yourself a bottle. Feel … Read More!

Fall is my favorite season for so many reasons. I love the crisp air, perusing the farmer’s market, picking apples straight off the tree, and the smell of a fresh pot of soup cooking on the stove. It’s the season of apple picking, transition, and also when I got married to the love of my life.

When transitioning from a hot, sweaty, go-go-go summer, fall is also my favorite time to re-set and get back to the basics through lots of self-care, clean eating and slowing down.

Meet the 14-day fall whole foods detox

That’s why I’m going to be hosting a 14-day REAL FOOD group detox group, and the next one starts November 28th (The Monday after Thanksgiving). This interactive program is designed to cleanse and pamper your body from the inside out —improving your digestion and eating whole, seasonal foods that are designed to support your body’s natural processes of detoxification and cleansing.

But as you know by now, I’m so not into dieting, so I made sure this program is chock-full of real, seasonal foods (60 recipes worth!), daily self care tips, a step-by-step guide and even journaling prompts to keep you inspired throughout our journey.… Read More!

Happy Friday, loves! I’m off in Virginia, celebrating a dear friend’s wedding on a vineyard. Then on Monday, I jet off to Greece with my husband for another friend’s wedding. I couldn’t be more excited to soak in all the joy + magic of the season. Seriously, someone pinch me.

Anyway, on to this week’s spotlight on Healthy Chicks in the Community, a weekly feature highlighting badass women doing their thang in the community. Celsea is a lovely young woman, who I had the pleasure to work with at my last job. She’s sweet, bright, witty and full of life! Celsea’s totally a gal after my own heart, always up to multiple projects + endeavors, vs. working just one 9-to-5 job.

I’ll let you meet this fiery red-head for yourself!

NAME/AGE: Celsea Novotny Jenkins

BLOG/TWITTER: FreshMeetsFierce.com, @CelseaJenkins on Instagram

CURRENT CITY: Oakland, CA

PHOTO TAKEN (WHERE/WHEN): A few months ago at my home in the Oakland Hills with one of my dogs, Bernadette

WHAT YOU DO FOR WORK: Right now I do freelance writing and marketing and I’m helping sweetgreen grow in Northern California. I’m definitely a generalist and love doing a lot of different things. Earlier this summer … Read More!

Do you compare yourself to other women?

For many years, I would compare myself to other women’s bodies. I was super self-conscious at the beach when I was around my skinnier friends, and would refuse to take off my shorts. How dare I reveal my “fat thighs?”

Being around my slim, beautiful friends made me feel fatter, uglier and less than, ultimately stemming from that internal feeling of not being “enough.” I remember the anxieties I’d have around getting ready to go out in college. While sometimes I’d feel “OK,” the second I walked out and saw how I sized up against my roommates, I’d feel really blah.

Spring break of senior year in Cancun was probably the lowest I’ve ever felt about myself. After a week-long Lemonade Detox stint and endless efforts to lose weight with dieting, I had reached my all-time heaviest. I hated the way I looked in a bikini, and was really embarrassed to be “seen” in front of the frat boys and sorority girls. I still vividly remember taking a picture on the beach with all my girls, as I hid behind one of my friends so my thighs wouldn’t be seen.

Why couldn’t … Read More!

During my days as a chronic, obsessive dieter, I knew my relationship with food was not normal, but I just couldn’t stop. It was like being in a toxic relationship — you know the dude’s not right for you but for some reason you stay. Meanwhile, all your friends are like get the eff out of that. Then years later, you look back and say “What the hell was I thinking?”

That was me with food!

When I was in college, I so envied my friends who could eat normal. They’d nonchalantly order a pizza after a long night out, get a salad whenever they felt like eating salad, and be able to have a bagel on a Sunday (with all the fixings!) without guilt. I wanted that. But instead, I sat there drooling over their meals, as I anxiously counted calories, picked apart my sandwich and ordered what I thought was “healthy.”

Years later when I decided to quit dieting once and for all — cold turkey — I subconsciously began to develop the mindset of what I referred to as a “normal eater.” I realized right then and there that it wasn’t about what or how … Read More!

Happy Friday ladies! I’ve been taking the week off of social media, and it feels oh so glorious. I had a strong urge inside of me to step away from it all — the comparison, the noise, the posting of everything I’m doing — and just be. I am, however, allowing myself to check my email and blog because, well, it is kind o’ part of what I do after all 😉

Anyway, in stepping away from the social media, it’s forced me to look within. I’ve been spending a lot of time with my journal, reading, meditating and listening to inspirational talks (which ultimately led me to Katie who you’ll meet today!) I stumbled upon Katie’s podcast Let It Out with Katie Dalebout (formerly the Wellness Wonderland) during an interview she hosted with spiritual guru Gabby Bernstein.

I immediately felt connected. I was so drawn by Katie’s lighthearted sense of humor, joyful voice and her authentic way of building community — virtually! “I could totes be friends with this chick!” I thought to myself, and so I curled up with my blanket and continued to listening to podcast after podcast. It was then I discovered … Read More!

My journey with dieting started when I was 16 years old with the South Beach Diet. I started it right after a family vacation, when it became apparent to me that my thighs were ‘huge’ and I was ‘fat.’ So I scoured the internet in search for a solution, and of course going on a diet was the number one answer from Google.

I still vividly remember sitting through English class, counting out my celery sticks and 30-calorie cheese wedges. I started the diet right around my sister’s birthday, where I avoided nearly all the food and quietly ate my ricotta ‘pudding’ in the corner as everyone else devoured the cake. I had egg beaters every morning for breakfast, turkey roll-ups at lunch and grilled chicken or fish with veggies for dinner. I avoided most fruit, all grains and bread like the plague. After all, they were ‘off limits.’

Throughout the whole diet process, it was the first time in my life I became obsessed with the scale, counting calories and losing weight. Even though I was in fact dropping pounds (mostly water weight in the beginning), I was more self-conscious than ever and literally consumed with how I looked.… Read More!

As a child, I absolutely adored food. I was lucky to grow up in a household that valued good food, and sitting down for family dinners. My mom’s chicken parmesan, shepherd’s pie and chicken devan were absolutely to-die-for, and I cherished each and every bite.

I have fond memories walking into my grandmother’s house to the comforting aroma of a fresh pot of homemade chicken noodle soup. I loved helping my grandma cook, plopping celery and carrots into the boiling water ever so carefully to assure I wouldn’t get burnt. She taught me how to make pierogies (making sure to pinch the dough juuuust right), and that there’s nothing sweeter than a tomato picked fresh from the garden with just a pinch of salt.

Food was love. And we all loved to eat.

Somewhere along the way, that all changed. I learned that food was “bad” and would in turn make me fat. And so the self-depricating, fat-shaming deprivation began. Food consumed me for a solid 6+ years of my life. It was always on my mind, and I completely let it dictate my life. I’d skip out on dates, dinner with friends, and fabulous opportunities all because of my … Read More!