EEEWWWW what is that?? Is that my skin?

Skin!

Yeah so obviously jo-jo dieting didn’t help, but neither did giving birth to the 22 inch, 9.2 Pound baby that was the size of a three month old, and whose head circumference was 15 inches (thus she never dropped).  So, I am working on fixing this issue while I am losing weight. There are three things I am doing to help with my obsession of getting myself back in primo shape before we even think about having another one. (Also, I KNOW I AM NOT THE ONLY MOM THAT FEELS THIS WAY) 

ONE is Dry Brushing

This is something my German Oma always swore by! “Jennifer you should be doing this because it helps with tightening skin and circulation and cellulite” Obviously she was speaking German and it really did not resonate to a 12 year old. However the retired nurse was 100% right!

Get yourself a dry brush and start doing this IMMEDIATELY! I looked online and they ran for around 8-19 dollars, until I had the genius idea to check ROSS! They have everything random! Sure as shit, they had one left for 2.99$!!! AWESOME!

The way you dry brush is also important. You are gonna want to start at your ankles and in round circular motions work your way up. Be warned, it does not feel good, nor should it. You are rubbing off dead skin and circulating blood in your body. When has beauty every = no pain??  I hope this goes unsaid, but just in case, YOU HAVE TO BE DRY, the brush does not get wet!

Do this 2-3 times a day if you like….. shower afterwards.

Then do number TWO

Body scrub!

I made my own last night and I must tell you it was fantastic! My skin is super smooth and feels so much better. The Dry brushing helped for sure.

I made my scrub out of Coconut Oil because of its amazing benefits (to see them and its uses check out Gigi’s Beauty blog HERE) and EPSOM Salt.  Underneath is the link, but there are so many besides for health.

USE A SEPERATE DRY BRUSH!!

EPSOM SALT USES: BEAUTY

Exfoliate dead skin - In the shower or bath, mix a handful of Epsom salt with a tablespoon of bath or olive oil and rub all over your wet skin to exfoliate and soften. Rinse thoroughly.

Exfoliating face cleanser - To clean your face and exfoliate skin at the same time, mix a half-teaspoon of Epsom salt with your regular cleansing cream. Gently massage into skin and rinse with cold water.

Dislodge blackheads - Add a teaspoon of Epsom salt and 3 drops iodine into a half cup of boiling water. Apply this mixture to the blackheads with a cotton ball.

Remove foot odor - Mix a half cup of Epsom salt in warm water and soak your feet for 10 minutes to remove bad odor, sooth achy feet, and soften rough skin.

Remove hairspray - Combine 1 gallon of water, 1 cup of lemon juice, and 1 cup Epsom salt. Cover the mixture and let set for 24 hours. The next day, pour the mixture into your dry hair and leave on for 20 minutes before shampooing as normal.

Hair volumizer - Combine equal parts deep conditioner and Epsom salt and warm in a pan. Work the warm mixture through your hair and leave on for 20 minutes. Rinse thoroughly.

Helps muscles and nerves function properly

Studies show that Epsom salt can help regulate electrolytes in your body, ensuring proper functioning of the muscles, nerves and enzymes. Magnesium is also known to be critical in the proper use of calcium, which serves as a main conductor of the electric impulses in your body.

Eliminates toxins from the body

The sulfates in Epsom salt help flush toxins and heavy metals from the cells, easing muscle pain and helping the body to eliminate harmful substances. Your skin is a highly porous membrane and adding the right minerals to your bathwater triggers a process called reverse osmosis, which actually pulls salt out of your body, and harmful toxins along with it. For a detoxifying bath, at least once weekly add two cups of our Ultra Epsom Salt to the water in a bathtub and soak for 10 minutes.

More Info…..

How to make it?

Get an airtight container that you can keep in the shower, and that way its handy.

Take your Course Sea Salt and mix your Oil in at a 2:1 ratio.  For example I mixed 2 cups Salt with 1 cup of Coconut Oil. You can add some essential oils if you want to add a fragrance to it, but I just left mine plane. Good ones would be lavender, peppermint or even coconut if you like the beachy tan smell.

Scoop a little out and start massaging it into your skin like you did with the dry brush, be careful because the floor of your shower is going to be oily and you could slip! Which would not be pretty….. no! No one want to see that!

Then rinse in the shower! It is so moisturizing! You will  LOVE it!

Ok the THIRD is sure CHEESY!

But super awesome! It was also a ROSS find and a last minute idea! You have all been awake at like 2 A.M and seen the stupid adds for THESE:

Well I used it at the gym and HOLY CRAP! I was sweating like crazy and it seemed to do the trick! I know its all water and stuff, but why not heat up that zone while I am on the machines right?? I am going to keep using this bad boy! Hey for 6.99$ that’s 10$ less than spanks lol!

x.o.x.o jenn

Last part of the crazy 2 weeks!

1. 5k
2. Trip

3. Sickness

4. Weight loss!

So as I sit here eating some form of cookie dough blast 2.0 ice cream, I have some exciting news. No I am not one of the 1000 people that seem to be pregnant, so get rid of that idea right now! My news is way better, for me at least! Over the past month or during all of January I have lost 10 pounds! 10 pounds! Super exciting!

No crash dieting or diet pills, just good old fashion eating better, working out and trying to be healthier. I really want to loose like 80 more, yeah I know 80lbs sounds huge, but I would also me happy with 50 or 60! I think I might keep a little ticker on the side to keep myself accountable. 

Something I am going to change a little, is my commitment to MyFitness Pal. I really need to get better about tracking my food, because so many times I wake up thinking “why has the scale not moved? I didn’t eat anything today that was bad or crazy?!” I have to remember that even “healthy” eating has calories. I have to remind myself it is al relative. To be honest I have been eating a lot of ice cream lately with rob at night and that totally has to stop. Yikes! Also, when I get enough courage I will post my starting weight, current and goal weight. I mean no one reads this thing anyway, but I am still a little hesitant.

That treadmill is also calling my name, but I really have been to weak and sick to use it. =(  I am going to try this weekend! I have a lot of things going on this weekend, so I hope I can get that done.

Alright guys have a good night!

Change my Hunger

Day 1

I know, I know it is totally cliché to start a new regimen on New Years, but what if I start (or started) a few days before? It would not seem to be considered a “New Years” Resolution, but maybe more of a “New Life Resolution”! That is what I am trying to create, a new me. I have made some little changes here and there, like:

 I started running a little because I signed up for the Color Run on Jan. 6^th. I have never run a 5 K, and figured “Why Not?”

I started eating a little better by taking my lunch to work every day and separating them into portions

These are all fine and dandy, but it wasn’t until my brother and his girlfriend really started making little hints to me about my weight. I know it is out of control and I have gained so much. I am really unhappy and stress so much about it. I have health issues and I am sure that if I really stuck to it they would go away. Not only that, but my relationship with my husband, attitude about work, love for my daughter and how I feel about myself would all increase exponentially.

My brother Mark saw the movie “Fat, sick and almost dead”, and whoever has not seen it, I highly recommend watching it. I saw it last year and tried the whole juicing thing, and was starving! I have tried so many “fad” diets and end up starving. Mark telling me to just juice and lose the weight was a hint that he wants me to be healthier. I don’t want to starve, I want to eat like a normal person and be healthy. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t over eat by any means, I actually eat small portions, but it’s what I eat which is the problem. I cook a lot and love it, but I need to be better about what I cook with.

So I did some research and look for some documentaries about food and the food industry, and I found an amazing movie called Hungry forChange, Directed my Jaime Oliver, the British Chef that cooks really fresh! It was amazing to see how much crap is in food and how it affects us! Everyone needs to see this movie and buy the book like I did!

So instead of going all hard core, like only juicing or only shakes, I have decided to just live healthy and use a lot of the told from the movie by juicing and eating 80% raw foods. The reason I say 80% is because things like Milk (which is important for my 1.5 year old) and some foods still have additives. I am going to drink a really healthy shake (Almased) and juice and eat fruit during the day, and eat dinner with my family. The Dinner will be lean meat with veggies and fruit.

I started a few days ago and it is going great! Lena even drinks the freshly juiced apple juice! In order not to make this the biggest blog post ever, I will divide some of all my changes over the next few posts =) that way there is something to read!