Healthy Chicks

I used to think that starting over was impossible — it seemed completely out of my reach.

If I over-indulged for a weekend in college, I’d punish myself for being “bad” and “ruining” my diet by starving myself and stuffing my face with sugar-free, low-cal crap.

And if I made a mistake, chose the wrong path or felt “stuck” in a life I didn’t love, I’d think there was nothing I could do about it. This is just how it is. It’s “too late.”

I now know it’s never too late to start over & create the life you want for yourself. With this new mindset, I’ve left jobs that didn’t feel right to me, let go of a toxic “relationship” that was draining me, broke up with the scale, and released the thoughts “I can’t.”

By doing so, I have found a career path that makes me stay up late at night feeling inspired, I know what real love feels like, I have developed a healthy & fun relationship with food and I now tell myself “I can do it” as much as possible.

You see, it truly is never too late. Your life is like a blank … Read More!

Happy first day of summer ladies! The day has finally come…let the celebrations commence. I don’t know about you, but summer didn’t always bring up warm, happy, fuzzy feelings for me. In fact, it gave me a whole lot of anxiety to tell you the truth.

Pool parties, beach days, bikinis, BBQs, and heck even my birthday brought up lots of negative emotions for me. “Why can’t I have her body?” “How can I hide my ginormous, fat thighs at the beach?” “What can I do to work off all the ‘bad food’ I ate last night?” “Great…another birthday…another year…and I’m still single AND heavier than last year.”

Oh the endless guilt, self-hate and body-bashing. It was pure torture.

Once I quit dieting and began to fall in love with life, the weight started to come off, the negative emotions started to fade and I started to be a little nicer to my body.

Alas, summer has by far become my favorite season once again. Without further adieu, here are 40 reasons why summer gets my heart pumpin’!

1. Camping trips with zero makeup, zero distractions and zero drama

2. My birthday. July 5th that is. It’s a day to … Read More!

I try to live a pretty balanced life (as much as I can). I eat clean foods that make my body feel really good, but also indulge in the occasional burger and the more-than-occasional glass of red wine with dark chocolate. I love running & signing  up for local races, but I also enjoy going on long walks with The Boy or my girlfriends just to catch up. I’m known to ask a million questions and “talk too much,” but I’m also a really great friend and a darn god listener. I’m not a “vegetarian” nor am I a “meat-eater.” I adore the fast-paced, buzzing city-living in Boston, but my roots are back home on our family’s lake-house in CT. I’m a little bit of everything… the best of both worlds.

sweetgreen, the super-sweet company I work for here in Boston (if you don’t know of ’em yet you need to visit their site ASAP), believes in this concept of balance but also takes it one step further. They say that true greatness happens when passion and purpose intersect. Passion x Purpose. Passion meets purpose.  My list includes writing x inspiring others, connecting x making people feel better, eating … Read More!

What made you SMILE today? I want to know! Share below! … Read More!

Last week, I was meeting with one of my clients talking about goals, dreams and all that good stuff. I really like to get deep inside the eyes of my clients to find out what drives, motivates, and really lights them up. When we got to the part where we discussed any blockages or things getting in the way from living the life of her dreams, she simply said “My weight.” In fact, “Lose weight” was at the top of every to-do list she had ever created for herself.

I then asked her what she’d be doing, eating, living, seeing, being if her weight was not a factor in living the life of her dreams. I soon found out that not only was her weight holding her back from being comfortable in her clothing, but it was preventing her from doing things she truly loves like connecting with people on a deeper level, taking zumba classes and being truly happy in her own skin.

That right there was a huge wake up call, one that she needed to see. One that we all need to see every once and a while. So what did I have my client do? … Read More!

How did you love, appreciate & honor your body today? What makes you feel extra-good on the inside & out? … Read More!

Time for another week of Flashback Friday, where I dig deep into my past life as a chronic, unhappy dieter to shed some light on what I’ve learned since then. This week I tackle emotional eating, cravings and everything in between. Are you ready?

I have a confession: Back when I was in college & hardcore dieting, my #1 vice was peanut butter. Fat-Free Skippy Peanut Butter to be exact. While everything else (like bread, real cheese, Mexican food, margaritas, pasta, certain meats, real sugar, full-fat anything) was off limits and “bad”, I still allowed myself to eat peanut butter. Fat-free peanut butter.

I’d eat it straight out of the jar with a big metal spoon, mindlessly scooping away until before I knew it half the jar would be gone. It made me feel really good — it was my “drug” of choice. I went through a jar of peanut butter a week (give or take).

While Skippy & I had a love affair throughout college, I labeled most food as “bad,” avoiding them like the plague. My “good” list was definitely lacking, and contained things like fat-free dressing, lean chicken, carb-free, low-cal “noodles,” fake cheese, rice cakes, … Read More!

Good afternoon Healthy Chicks, and happy almost weekend! I’ve been super busy these past couple weeks between taking fitness classes, working on freelance writing pieces, finding our new apartment (which I adore!) and prepping for sweetgreen’s Boston opening so I apologize if I’ve been a little MIA on the blog front.

While it’s great to be busy, every once in a while it’s nice to pause, unplug and look within to give yourself a little reset. You know, to check in with yourself and ask “How am I feeling?” “Am I nourishing myself?” Last week, I made sure to take some “me time” to really find some clarity. During this week, I was fortunate enough to be meeting with Stacy Slawitsky (who you’ll meet in a moment) who was kind enough to do a complimentary chakra clearing session on me to break through some of those energy blocks. During our session, I learned that I was taking in a lot of other people’s “stuff” & that my fear and lack of confidence was holding me back from doing some pretty darn amazing things. It was quite fascinating, and I left feeling a little lighter, a little more at ease and … Read More!