Healthy Chicks

Good afternoon ladies! Hope you are all having a sun-shiny day, despite the rain and dreary weather in Boston. I guess we can’t complain much after having 2 beautiful days in a row. I honestly can’t get enough of this sunshine!

For those of you participating in my “Get Happy & Healthy” Wellness Challenge, I am so impressed by all your hard work, dedication and creativity. From squeezing in that extra “me time” to enjoy your breakfast mindfully (and listen to the birds chirping) to trying a brand new green (like broccoli rabe or mustard greens!), each and every step you take—both big and small—is one step closer to a happier, healthier you. Keep up the super work!

OK, on to another week of Healthy Chicks in the Community! This week I am so thrilled to introduce you to Jenn, a real women who shines confidence, health, strength and inspiration. After all, she wasn’t named one of BostInno’s 50 on Fire for nothing. I’ve had the pleasure of sitting down with Jenn in person and took her Pilates Bootcamp Class (which you can read about in my newsletter here) and can tell you this woman is the … Read More!

Good afternoon, ladies! Today I wanted to touch base on a topic that’s often not discussed in the health & wellness community: mindfulness. For those of you who are participating in my 7-Day “Get Happy & Healthy” Wellness Challenge, you should have already seen in your inbox that today’s challenge has to do with eating mindfully.

What the heck does mindfulness have to do with healthy living, you ask? Well it’s a whole lot more than one may think! It’s also a topic that I hold very close to my heart, as it’s one of the major steps that helped me get over diet-obsessed living once and for all.

You see, in college I ate (and lived, for that matter) completely mindlessly. I scarfed down food as quickly as I could so I wouldn’t have to deal with the guilt, and I rushed through all my meals like it was one big race. I was an emotional eater and an impulse eater at that, eating what would make me “feel better” (or so I thought) and then dealing with the guilt of the aftermath.

This then lead to extreme restriction, dieting and poor body image which, if you … Read More!

Good evening ladies! Hope you all had a nice day. I’m feeling real good as I just got home from a sweaty spin class/ meeting with the ever-so-energetic Ali Balsassare at Equinox. I’m beginning to love evening exercises more than I thought, though I’m still a morning person at heart.

Alright, let’s get to it; it’s time for another week of Healthy Chicks in the Community. Remember how last week I mentioned that Jess had an equally awesome twin sister? Well, I thought it’d be fitting to feature her amazing twin (in fact, they are actually triplets) on the blog this week. I’m thrilled to introduce you to the Jolene, whose writing literally gives me chills, or makes me tear up every. single. time. By the way, she truly has one of the most beautiful love stories I’ve ever witnessed. I’ll let Jo take it from here…

NAME/AGE:  Jolene Bonina, age: 33

BLOG/TWITTER (If Applicable): Blog: Determined To Be: http://determineduncensored.com/ Twitter: jobo_determined

CURRENT CITY:  Andover, Mass.

PHOTO TAKEN:  This is one of my favorite pics with M (it’s a toss up, location takes the cake on this one!), in our favorite town in Sonoma County – Healdsburg. It’s … Read More!

Good afternoon ladies and welcome to this week’s feature for Friday Flashbacks, where I share with you personal life lessons from my past.

Do you remember in highschool when everyone would drive the same car, wear the same clothes and eat the same lunch because it was cool? It was “the thing” to do/eat/drink/be. I swear my lunch table was like an ad for Abercombie & Fitch (and bagels with cream cheese).

I remember one day, one of the girls in our class plucked her eyebrows super thin, and then everyone started doing it including myself. Soon it was trending like wildfire. Only problem was it completely backfired and I ended up over-plucking to the extent where I just looked plain scary. Not to mention the fact that I used to pile on two pounds of makeup…because that’s what all the girls were doing after all.

This continued in college with oversized designer sunglasses, blonde highlights, fad diets and Vera Bradley bags. Whatever was “in” at the moment all the girls would buy, making us look and act like one big clone. There was the day Junior year of college where a chunk of the girls were doing the … Read More!

Good morning to all you beautiful Healthy Chicks out there! I’m off to a great start to the day, as The Boy made me a super veggie-packed frittata (while I was still sleeping) and I’m off to meet a friend for life chats at one of my favorite organic cafes, Life Alive.  (Fitting, huh?) I’m also going to get my Downward Dog on tonight with one of my best friends at Back Bay Yoga. We’re taking Lynne’s Vinyasa Flow with Live Music: Flute & Guitar.

I’m so excited for a zen, thought-provoking me kinda day. Those are the best after all, don’t ya think? And even if your schedule’s packed to the brim, you can still try to squeeze in little things throughout the day just for Y-O-U. Take time for yourself, ladies, even though it’s hard to remember at times (trust me, I know…I sometimes put “me” on the back burner too).

Anyway, ‘nough about me. Today I’m here to bring you this week’s feature for Healthy Chicks in the Community. I am extra giddy about today’s spotlight, as she’s actually one of the first bloggers I “met.” (We actually have plans to meet FOR … Read More!

Good afternoon lovelies! Today I am excited to announce a new weekly feature on the blog: Friday Flashbacks. As I’ve mentioned time and time and again on this blog, while it may look like I have it “all together” health-wise that was not always the case. And for those who know me I am far from perfect; I’m a real girl.

But back in my late teenage years and early twenties I reallllyyy struggled with the scale, dieting, counting calories and everything in between. I have been there, there as in a place I never want to be again, a place many of you may have been (or may be now).

Friday Flashbacks will take you along with me back on a journey in time to peak at what my lifestyle/mindset was back then and how I’ve grown. I want you to know that I’ve gone through a lot to get to a place of self-love and that undoubtedly YOU CAN TOO.

COUNTING CALORIES

The first time I started counting calories was sophomore year in college. College was one of the first times in my life that I truly felt pretty because I finally got down … Read More!

On this past Wednesday morning, I woke up to my alarm at 5:45 a.m. as happy as a clam. That is, because I was headed off to the mountains to embark on a journey to Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in the Berkshires.

If you haven’t heard of Kripalu, it’s quite difficult to put into words but I’ll try. It’s pretty much a hidden escape in the middle of the mountains filled with lots of yoga, meditation, wellness workshops/lectures, nutritious food, spa treatments, and R & R. Pretty much my Happy Place to a T.

My aunt had introduced me years ago, when we took a trip with my sister and mom after I graduated from college. But my aunt and I were back again for round two, this time being much different as I now have a greater appreciation for good food and wellness for the mind, body and soul, which are both important themes at Kripalu. As we drove up through the beautiful mountains, I was just itching to fuel my body with flavorsome meals, and soak up all the information I could in one day!

Upon checking in, the receptionist kindly reminded us that, … Read More!

[May ’09 – counting calories & deprivation]    [Summer ’12 – living my life – happy & carefree!]

note: I was not my heaviest here but still unhappy

One of the reasons I decided to pursue a career in holistic health counseling is because I’ve been there.

There as in a place where I tried everything (I mean everything!) to make my body change when it wouldn’t budge. There as in frantically adding up my calories for the day during Psychology class, while pretending to take notes. There as in canceling Mexican night with my girlfriends because I feared a margarita and quesadilla would make me fatter. There as in feeling like a little kid on Christmas every time the scale went down a pound, while feeling like I wanted to crawl in a hole and die every time it went up .2 pounds.

There as in hooking up with boys to make me feel better about myself and my body, and feeling I wasn’t skinny enough, pretty enough or good enough. There as in calling a pile of rice cakes with fat-free peanut butter “dinner.” There as in having a mental breakdown every time I ate something “bad”  … Read More!