Kicking off Tappy Holidays 2010

This holiday season I'm armed with healthy tools to keep me accountable, active and eating veggies.  T'appy Holidays with T-Tapp Trainer Lani Muelrath is a T-Tapper's dream.  Lani created a spreadsheet that gives a weekly outline with some healthy habits including daily exercise, body brushing, eating 7 servings of veggies and having a "gusto" breakfast.  For each activity that you complete you get a certain amount of points.  At the end of the week you tally up your points and see where you fall: Goddess, Diva, Muse or Flirt.  We all want to be Goddesses!!!

This is a wonderful way to keep up with your healthy habits and stay on track with a fitness plan during the busiest time of year!  Tappy Holidays started on Sunday, November 7th.  I technically started on Monday because I was feeling under the weather this weekend and needed to get a newsletter done for work.

Monday, November 8th
So far so good!  Yesterday I got in 6 servings of veggies and my body brushing.  Skipped a gusto brekkie and had a cup of hot coffee (it's cold in Florida!) with cream and raw sugar, plus an organic golden delicious apple once I got to the office.  I was starving by lunch and devoured 2.5 cups of raw salad (romaine, spinach, onion, carrots, cilantro) and 1 cup of homemade pumpkin soup.  That's 5 servings of veggies at lunch alone!  For dinner I made a fresh organic beef chili packed with veggies (zucchini, green pepper, onion, garlic, and kidney beans).  Almost 7 servings, but one short due to skipping brekkie... the most important meal of the day!

No exercise though...very busy day and I didn't make the time for it.  No excuses.


Tuesday, November 9th
I made sure to get in my veggies... 1.5 cups of chopped zucchini, onion and baby bellas accompanied my 2 scrambled eggs with BVI Seasoning and Garlic Pepper.  That's 3 servings of veggies!  For lunch I ate another bowl of my pumpkin soup, which accounted for another 2 servings.  And dinner was more of my beef chili.  I did sneak in a few all-natural gummy bears.

Workout: Basic Workout Plus + floor work (OIP/HF, 15 Crunches, AL, PT, DD) for a 30 minute "free choice" routine.  And got my body brushing in too!


Will keep you posted on my T'appy Holidays progress each week in a wrap-up blog.  For now I'm off to get in more veggies...  staying stocked up on produce is KEY!

Au revoir!

My Big 3-0

There's something looming on the horizon... my 30th birthday!  Yes, that's right... my 30th, not 20th as some people perceive.  (I just got carded for mimosa at brunch this past weekend!)  My 10 year high school reunion was in 2009.  I've been with my boyfriend for over 5 years now, had Roxy for almost 3.  Been working at T-Tapp a few years over a decade.  Time is flying!!!  I certainly don't feel 30... or look it, which is a nice perk!  I want to look and feel my best to *glow* my way into 30... and think it's time to step it up and refresh my game plan...  The whole milestone and all is a real motivator for me!   Besides, what better time than now?

Here are some things that I want to incorporate into my lifestyle to be my best:

Spa Days At Home
Treating yourself by doing things that make you feel good in the comfort of your home.  For me that's body and face brushing, magnesium oil foot soaks, salt baths, salt masks, facials made with organic ingredients (good enough to eat!), massage, FIR sauna sessions, relaxing and meditation, stretching and of course some T-Tapp!  Every year T-Tapp hosts a fitness event at the Safety Harbor Resort & Spa.  The "Retreat" includes a few daily workouts, spa pampering, lots of water and healthy eating.  My goal is to try to duplicate that type of environment at home. 

We just finished up the T-Tapp Beauty Boot Camp Spa Retreat and have some great ideas.  I will try out some of the recipes for homemade beauty products and treatments from Shelly Ballestero's book Beauty By God.  I'm excited about this!  When you feel amazing you glow.  Will post details of my spa days, which I plan on doing once or twice a week.  Who doesn't need some pampering in their life?

Eat More Organic and Local Produce
I've been reading more and more about the power of eating a diet of alive nutrients from organic plant-based foods.  This will feed the body antioxidants, amino acids, minerals and vitamins to combat aging and dis-ease.  I plan on introducing more fresh raw foods into my meal plan... found some great recipes too!  I already love green smoothies/drinks/monsters so I'm interested in discovering tasty mixtures of blended and juiced produce.  It feels like the timing is right and it's been calling to me.  I keep gathering more information on this subject without really trying to. Also want to do a wheatgrass detox with fresh juice!

This will include trips to the farmers markets and natural food stores (instead of Publix and Sweetbay all the time because they're convenient) and making mostly all of my own meals (maybe eating out a few times a week).

Eat Stop Eat
I've read all about this concept on the T-Tapp forum.  Eat Stop Eat is not really a diet.  It involves fasting for 18-24 hours straight (only drinking water and calorie-free beverages like tea or black coffee) once or twice a week, and eating normally the other days.  There's science behind this method and, from reading what the T-Tappers have to say about their experience, Eat Stop Eat has proven to be an effective way to naturally detoxify the body and assist in fat loss.

Personally, I never thought that I could skip a meal.  I always felt like my blood sugar would drop too low and I'd get sick.  Plus I love food!  To do Eat Stop Eat you must be mentally prepared and fully understand why you are fasting, not depriving yourself or having to follow some fad diet plan.  The ESE book is packed full of educational information on the program and will be helpful in preparing you mentally to fast.  It's a simple approach and makes sense to me.  I don't have weight to lose (actually surprised to find out I weigh 15 pounds less than I did this time last year!), so I'd be following this method for detox and elimination benefits.  Plus, it would be nice not to have to worry about what I'm eating for a day.

Taken straight from the Eat Stop Eat website, Brad Pilon (creator of the Eat Stop Eat intermittent fasting diet plan) says:

“Scientific Research Proves That Eat Stop Eat Will Help You Lose Weight, and Get Rid of Stubborn Body Fat – All While Preserving your Metabolism and Without Making You Lose Lean Muscle.”

I need to buy the book and get started on the program this week.  (Currently priced at $39.95 or $57.00 for the whole kit and kaboodle.)

Emotional Freedom Technique
I'm so curious about the concept of EFT or Tapping.  This is powerful stuff!  Again, I first heard about this on the T-Tapp forum.  (T-Tappers are cutting-edge when it comes to all things health related!)  I just received the DVD and book combo in the mail.  I can't wait to learn more about it and get started.

Build on Current Healthy Habits
I've been on this health kick and don't want to stop the momentum.  This is a lifestyle not a magic pill!

• Consistent T-Tapp workouts plus extra core-building moves and some yoga
• Body and face brushing
• Oil pulling
• Magnesium oil foot soaks
• Far infrared sauna sessions
• Find a good multivitamin/multimineral, protein powder and organic sunscreen

I'm going to continue on with my own Beauty Boot Camp at home to work on being the healthiest and happiest me.  Anyone care to join me?  You don't have to do what I do, but just implement a few new healthy habits to improve your health, beauty and longevity.

Sweetness of Sustainability

{ Caylee & Roxy with super tongue! }

So many fun photos, so little time!  In serious need of a laptop makeover over here... editing photos takes f-o-r-e-v-a!!!

That has to be the craziest Roxy photo this week.  This morning Jen stopped by the T-Tapp office with her adorable kids, Conner and Caylee.  Roxy loves any creatures about her size and adored sweet Caylee...and she squealed with delight over the pup.

Previous Caylee posts: Welcome Caylee Dakota! and Caylee's First Day at T-Tapp.

I can't help myself, she is just too cute. ♥ 

 { Me & Caylee }

That's me half asleep and half way blinking to the double-flash of my camera.  Don't you love her little dress?

{ La & Caylee }

This photo looks like Caylee has sold La on the power of Fibertox!


In other news... 
I'm proud to say that I've skipped Starbucks and any coffee this week, for that matter!

It's not that I don't want to drink a latte... it's that I don't need to and I recognize that.  IMO the benefits of skipping it outweigh picking up the expensive habit and having to detox all over again.  I'm giving myself a pat on the back for this one. Will take it one week at a time and focus on why I'm initiating this change in the first place.


Eats

Brekkie

1 Scrambled Egg with BVI Seasoning and 1/2 a Florida Ruby Red Grapefruit.

Later in the morning... Whole Banana with Organic PB.

Lunch

Finished off about 1/2 of this salad.  I missed the tomatoes and olives!

Snack

Single Serving Granola.

Dinner

I'm also proud of the dinner I made tonight. 100% organic and sustainable!

Fresh Wild and Sustainably Harvested Sockeye Salmon was on sale...

I picked up Organic Green Beans and already had some Organic Red Quinoa on hand.

I made a paste with Organic Garlic, Ginger and EVOO, then rubbed it on the top side of the filet.  In the skillet I added a splash of OJ, Organic Soy Saunce and Organic Green Onions.  Placed the filet face down and cooked for about 10 minutes.  It turned out juicy and with amazing flavor!

Delish!  And I have more for tomorrow... might have to stock up on this while it's on sale.

Oh, and I can't forget the wine!  Trinity Oaks Pinot Noir ...

I bought a bottle of wine and planted a tree at the same time.  How cool is that?

One Bottle One Tree

I feel incredible after that amazing meal!


Healthy Habits

Nourishment
Fruits: 2 servings
Veggies: 4 servings
Water: 60 oz of my Lifefactory bottle!
 
Body Care
Body Brushing & Magnesium Oil: check!
Exercise: Primary Back Stretch and Hoe Downs.

I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day.  I'm going to have to start my early bird routine again!  Must get in a morning workout... looking forward to it, actually.  I plan on waking up with a smile and energy to stretch and move my body in preparation for a Fabulous Friday.


Supplements
Alfalfa: 6 caps
B-12 Plus: 4 sprays
Vitamin D3: 8 sprays


Off to enjoy the rest of my evening...

Au revoir!

Power of Magnesium Oil

I finally broke down and bought some Magnesium Oil.  It's about time!  This product is amazing. It was just what I was missing in my routine.

Magnesium is such an important part of overall health.  It helps with improving a large variety of ailments.  Here's the brochure I received with my gallon that lists conditions that Magnesium Oil will help.

{ click to enlarge }

Unlike magnesium supplements, you don't have to digest the oil.  (Digesting magnesium is the super slow way to get your levels up.  You could take it every day for 5 years and your levels still wouldn't be up!)  Instead you apply the oil topically and do foot or bath soaks for about 20 minutes.  Last night I did my first foot soak.  My feet were tingling by the end and I felt really relaxed.  It was good to unwind and get my magnesium levels up!  I'm going to apply it to the bottoms of my feet (and anywhere else that aches) in the morning, then aim for a foot soak in the evening.

This is really incredible stuff!  It takes out my pain/soreness within minutes.  I can't believe how fast it works.  I must have been really deficient even though I've been trying to take Natural Calm before bed lately.

I'm making Magnesium Oil a part of my healthy habits!  You should too.

Contact Joan over at Health and Wisdom to place your order or ask any questions.  Joan did a presentation at a T-Tapp Retreat a few years ago and we all learned so much from her.  She's a great resource of health-related information.

Maybe the Magnesium Oil has something to do with my happy mood over the past few days?  I think so!

Au revoir!

Video: How To Do Oil Pulling (And Why You'd Want To)

Lately, I have to admit, oil pulling has been one of those things I've skipped. During vacation I did it a few times, but since being back I really have to get into my healthy habits routine... and oil pulling is the first thing to accomplish when waking up. I started using my coconut oil for beauty rather than consumption... so need to get a new bottle of that. For now I'm using the sunflower oil and it's not that bad (although coconut oil tastes much better).

Check out this video I found on oil pulling. It gives a great short explanation of what it is and how to do it.



Check out their website: http://finallyhealing.com

Au revoir!

Updates from the Moving Maven

Well friends... it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post. What can I say? Life has been busy, busy, busy! I got a new apartment in the Water... Clearwater, Florida that is. Have been moving my stuff out of my Dad's (weekend before last) and for the past week been moving out of storage (very slowly). Finished up the last of the moving Sunday evening (um, just last night). I'm exhausted! Now it's all about unpacking, organizing and cleaning once again. The boxes are stacked so high I can't walk into my living room at this point. I have my work cut out for me! I guess you could call me the Moving Maven!

Pluses and ups of the new apartment:

• Tile throughout, except the bedroom
• Huge walk-in closet, linen closet and pantry
• Glass-top self-cleaning oven
• Open kitchen
  
• Free AC filters each month
  
• Dog walk area right outside my door, plus a little dog park on the property
  
• One building away from pool and laundry areas
• Less than 10 minute drive from the office
• Central Pinellas County location (can get to Tampa, St. Pete or Clearwater Beach in 20-30 minutes)
  

Now for the bad things...

• Upper kitchen cabinets are really dirty on the inside and made from nasty toxic fiberboard (lower cabinets are not) so there's a lack of storage in the kitchen. I'm not about to put clean dishes or food in those cabinets! Don't know what to do or if they can be "fixed". Maintenance already came out and apparently sprayed the insides with bleach, but it hasn't done anything to the smell. Even if they were lined they would still give off toxic fumes. It's just not a sanitary place to keep stuff I plan on putting near my face. Very disheartening considering mostly everything else is awesome!
  
• Hot and cold are switched on the kitchen sink so I repeatedly burn myself. Ugh.
• Parking is not great, at all. They're working on getting assigned parking, but for now it's a free for all and can be limiting.
• There's only one way in and one way out of the complex. It's like a big circle with one way drive all the way around.
  

My healthy habits have been seriously lacking. I can't wait to get back into my healthy routine. Feel like I've gained a few inches here and there due to all that's been going on in the past month or so. I'm still kind of eating like I'm on vacation... living on Starbucks and take out due to not having my kitchen supplies (until now). I'm in a 60-Day Challenge and really feel like I should start over. Once I clear some space to exercise I'm planning on doing a 4 to 7 day boot camp with Tempo 2. Should make my back feel better too. I had to get a chiropractic adjustment last Monday and it really took a lot out of me. I went 5 months without an adjustment! I need to get back on track, for real.

My blog has a new look! Blogger just launched a new template designer and I absolutely LOVE it. So easy to use... and cute!

I've taken so many photos! Over 800 images in little less than a month. At this point I'm thinking it would be overkill to go back and do my daily posts for the blog. Seriously, you'd be reading for days. However, I will be posting a vacation recap of the road trip. Oh, I almost forgot... I took a vacation from my vacation two weekends ago. We got a room at a dog-friendly bed and breakfast on Madeira Beach. It was so relaxing and literally a 30 second walk from the beach itself. I got lots of sun and almost have my bronze back.

Will be doing a daily recap of today's eats this evening... stay tuned.

Au revoir!

Gettin' My Health Groove On!

Playing catch up again... ended up falling asleep before I could blog last night. Oops!

I've realized that for me to be happy in life I have to feel good in my body. When my body hurts it really impacts my daily activities. Doing healthy things for myself in turn make me a happy woman. Making the time for giving my body what it needs is vital to my well being. For example, here are some of the things that my body currently needs on a regular basis: the quality of consistent T-Tapp movement, alkaline water, organic God-made whole foods, weekly sauna sessions, body brushing, enough sleep, the proper supplements and a balance between work and play. I'm sure there are more, but that's all it's demanding from me right now... and that's a lot to keep up with!

There are times when we get so busy in life that we let those signals (or warning signs) from our body fade away as we attend to more important matters. For me that always results in running out of energy or wearing myself down even faster. If I take time out of my busy day to do a few of the important things on my body's to-do list, the other things seem to fall into place naturally.

The moral of this story is to tune into your body and find out what it's asking for. More veggies? More water? A nice afternoon nap? A few sets of Hoe Downs? A walk around the block? Take a little time for yourself each day to do something healthy for your body. And remember that what you do today helps you get closer to your goals tomorrow... and you'll feel better doing it!


Tuesday, May 18th

Healthy Habits

Body Care
Body Brushing - check!
Oil Pulling - check!
Exercise - Primary Back Stretch before brushing.

Nourishment
Fruits - 2 servings today.
Veggies - 3 servings today.
Water - check!

Supplements
Alfalfa: 6 caps
B-12 Plus: 8 sprays
Vitamin D3: 8 sprays


Eats

Brekkie

Jamba Juice! I shared a shot of wheatgrass with Marcel. He loved it too! Then drank almost half of the smoothie I ordered... Protein Berry Workout. I discovered that I do NOT like the taste of the whey protein they use. Yuck! The aftertaste and smell were hardly bearable... and it ended up in the trash. I had a few sips of Marcel's all-fruit smoothie, which was pretty yummy.

{ sorry no photo}

Lunch

Wolfgang Puck's Lentil Veggie Soup.

Has to be the grossest photo ever, but the soup actually tasted delicious for a canned soup!

And an Iced Grande Nonfat Vanilla Latte.

I drink these so much lately they need their own acronym: IGNVL!

Dinner

Chobani with Cascadian Farms Hearty Morning Cereal and Frozen Blueberries.

Wednesday, May 19th

Healthy Habits

Body Care
Body Brushing - check!
Oil Pulling - check!
Sauna - check! Yay, for sauna time. My body really needed it. Feeling SO much better!
Workout - check! Tempo Lower Body Standing. Got a great workout, then had to run out for about an hour to jump my dad's car.

Nourishment
Fruits - check! 1 servings today.
Veggies - check! 6 servings today.
Water - check!

Supplements
Alfalfa: 6 caps
Pyruvyl Glycine: 12 sprays
Vitamin D3: 8 sprays


Eats

Brekkie

IGNVL (see above).

Got my Lifefactory Bottle in the mail!!! Isn't it cute?!
Eco-friendly, on sale and stylish... can't beat that.

Jen brought in her blender today and we made purple green monsters!

• Fresh spinach
• Frozen organic cherries and blueberries
• Original Almond Breeze
• Stonyfield Farms Vanilla Yogurt
• MILA
  

Just what I needed!


Ava and La stopped by for a quick minute and I just had to snap a photo.

She's so adorable!

Lunch

Amy's Spinach Pizza Pocket Sandwich and sliced Cucumber with Garlic Hummus.

And... Iced Tall Nonfat Vanilla Latte #2

Dinner

Leftover Buffalo Wild Wings and Broccoli.

Post-workout Snack

Chobani 0% Vanilla Yogurt.

Well, good night friends...

Au revoir!

Oh, Healthy Habits

Well, during the past two weeks my posts and healthy habits have sort of gone out the window. My life has been absolutely slammed packed with other things needing my attention. I have been drinking my water, but really that's the only thing I've been able to keep up with in this chaos. I started the T-Tapp 60-Day Challenge on Friday, May 7th and have yet to squeeze in a workout AND I haven't had a green smoothie since April 28th!

I'm thinking that once I get settled down a bit more this week I can resume most of these. Believe me, my body is missing out!


Healthy Habits I'm still working on:

• Avoiding Alcohol/Coffee/Sweets + Clean Eating: Aiming for eating more organic minimally processed foods
• Exercise: Aiming for 3 full workouts per week
• Sleep: Aiming for 8 hours of sleep per day: bed by 10pm, wake by 6am
• Salt Soaks: Aiming for 2 times per week
  

Mastered Healthy Habits:

• Body & Face Brushing (daily)
• Far Infrared Sauna (once a week)
• Oil Pulling (daily)
• Water (2 liters a day)

Healthy Habits Weekly Reviews:
Week of March 14-20
Week of March 21-27
Week of March 28-April 3
Week of April 4-10
Week of April 11-17
Week of April 18-24

Au revoir!

April 18-24 Weekly Review: Healthy Habits

Week of Sunday, April 18 - Saturday, April 24

Previous Reviews:
Week of March 14-20
Week of March 21-27
Week of March 28-April 3
Week of April 4-10
Week of April 11-17



Avoiding Alcohol/Coffee/Sweets + Clean Eating: Aiming for eating more organic minimally processed foods

• SUN: 3 Organic OJ Mimosas, Ben & Jerry's Imagine Whirled Peace Ice Cream
• MON:
• TUE: Starbucks Grande Nonfat Vanilla Latte
  
• WED: Starbucks Grande Nonfat Vanilla Latte, processed bread
  
• THU:
• FRI: Beer, Fried Shrimp
  
• SAT: Beer, Chocolate Covered Almonds, Popcorn, Ice Cream
  

Doing a bit better. I almost always splurge on weekends! I'm going to try really hard to stay away from sweets this coming week and also only do a Starbucks Monday like Diana @ The Chic Life.


Body & Face Brushing: Aiming to brush once per day

• SUN: skipped!
  
• MON:
• TUE:
• WED:
• THU:
• FRI:
• SAT: skipped!

I think I'm pretty safe to say that this habit is set. I brush almost daily... and love it!


Exercise: Aiming for 3 full workouts per week

• SUN: off
  
• MON: off
• TUE: Workout with Kayla
  
• WED: 2 Workouts with Teresa Tapp
  
• THU: Ladybug Standing
  
• FRI: off
  
• SAT: off

Got in a surprise 4-day Boot Camp this week! And lost 3 more inches. Yay!


Far Infrared Sauna: Aiming for 1-2 sweat sessions per week

• WED:

Safe to say that this habit is set as well. It's my Wednesday routine.


Sleep: Aiming for 8 hours of sleep per day: bed by 10pm, wake by 6am

• MON: sleeping before 10pm!
  

All those other nights I was in bed after 11pm. I am horrible at this healthy habit. Just horrible. Average 7 hours of sleep per night.


Oil Pulling: Aiming for 15-20 minutes per day first thing upon waking

• SUN: skipped!
• MON:
• TUE:
• WED:
• THU:
• FRI:
• SAT: skipped!

This habit is set as well. Time to purchase more oil to swish with!


Salt Soaks: Aiming for 2 times per week

How did I do? Well, I completely skipped out on this. Might be able to squeeze in a soak or two this upcoming week, but then I have to say goodbye to my garden tub.


Water: Aiming for 2+ liters per day

• SUN:
• MON:
• TUE:
• WED:
• THU:
• FRI:
• SAT:

This habit is set as well.

Au revoir!