Health & Fitness

With cold & flu season coming quickly, it’s always a good idea to do what you can to protect you and your family. I always keep hand sanitizer at my desk at work, as that seems to be the place where most of our sicknesses come from (lots of parents with kids in school or daycare there). However, in the past, I have not been the best about using it as often as I should, mostly because I try not to overdo it with harsh sanitizers because I believe it messes with your body’s natural ability to fight germs. I am especially hesitant to use sanitizers on Trent’s skin, but can recall numerous times when it would have been helpful to be able to put some on him after some questionable germ contact without a sink around! And as I sit here with Trent and I both sick, now more than ever do I feel like I need get better about protecting us!

I was happy to be introduced to a line of gentler, more natural hand sanitizers, ones that can even be used on young skin like Trent’s, called Mother’s Therapy Organics.

 

They also have a Germ-Fight’n hand lotion that that will leave skin soft and smelling great while fighting germs. You can see in the photo below that the lotion is light and not thick so it rubs in easily and doesn’t feel sticky. I love that it comes in a pump bottle, making it easier and more convenient to use!

Natural citrus essential oils and extracts power through germs naturally while soothing aloe vera encourages multiple daily use. The alcohol-free clean smell and non-greasy formula is water-based and not thick like some lotions that stick to the top of skin.

I love the light cucumber scent that is not one bit overwhelming.

They also offer travel sizes that you can hang on bags, in your car and on a stroller!

And if you are just looking for a light lotion for baby without sanitizer, then try the Baby Lotion!

A baby’s newborn skin is especially susceptible to absorption. It’s therefore essential that what you place on your baby’s skin will not damage the cells which are just building!

Mother’s Therapy Organics™ Baby Lotion is the natural alternative to rubs or creams that often do skin more harm than good. Our non-greasy lotion maintains the delicate balance found in babies skin while offering a relaxing sensation that soothes sensitive areas.

Giveaway!

Up for grabs: 1 family pack of hand sanitizers from Mother’s Therapy Organics

How to enter: We’ll be using Rafflecopter for this one, so there are multiple ways to enter…pick one or pick them all!

This giveaway ends on Sunday, November 10th, 2013 at 11:59 pm EST. US residents only please. I will contact the winner the next day by email and will announce the winner as an update to this blog post. Good luck!

{If you are viewing this post in an email or RSS feed, please click over to the blog to enter the contest using the Rafflecopter form }

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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xoxo

Lynn

I received these products in exchange for a review and giveaway. All opinions are my own and honest.

Both Brett and I are really bad about remembering to take our vitamins. Since we have been trying to eat less in order to lose weight, we want to make sure we are still getting the vitamins are bodies need, but unless we have the bottles sitting on the counter, it has been difficult to remember to actually take them. However, we haven’t missed a single day since switching to adult gummy vitamins!

Upon being offered a bottle of Smarty Pants Gummy Vitamins for Adults, we thought it would be great to try to see if we could be better about remembering to take our vitamins if they actually tasted good and it has worked. Actually, when I first got them in the mail, we couldn’t wait to dig in to try them…it was almost like Halloween with Brett and Trent reaching for them as I opened the bottle.

About Smarty Pants Gummy Vitamins for Adults:

At first we were surprised that a daily serving was 6 gummies, but since they taste so good, we had no trouble consuming our daily allotment. In fact, we wished the daily serving was even more than 6!

These Smarty Pants gummy vitamins have a slightly sour coating on them, making them taste even more like a treat…a healthy treat!

At 6 gummies a day, a bottle of 180 gummy vitamins will last you 30 days.

Since these vitamins are for adults, we couldn’t let them be a vitamin for Trent, but just to see how he would like them (since we are considering starting him on vitamins since he is not the best eater) we gave him a small piece of one…and he LOVED it! He kept wanting more and would even see the bottle and start reaching for it. I guess that means we need to get a bottle of children’s gummy vitamins!

If you’ve ever considered trying gummy vitamins, I recommend going for it. We definitely remember to devour take our vitamins now and we actually enjoy them…as opposed to some big horse-pill vitamin. We also love that they contain fish oil, which is a great source of Omega-3, without the yucky fishy aftertaste.

They have vitamins for weight management and for kids, too!

 

Buy:

SmartyPantsVitamins.com

Amazon

Find a store near you (Don’t forget to use this $5 off Coupon!)

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xoxo

Lynn

I received this product in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own and honest.

It’s time to talk about UP.

No, not the movie.

The Jawbone UP.

I was so excited to receive my Jawbone UP. I had just decided about a week prior to receiving it to start being better with my diet and fitness, so it couldn’t have come at a better time. Right before I got pregnant in 2011 (yikes!), I started a quest to lose weight…not only because I could stand to lose some (that’s what working full time while getting your Master’s degree and taking the CPA exam will do to ya) but to get as healthy as I can since I was trying to get pregnant. I lost 12 pounds in less than 2 months and I felt great.

Efforts to pick up where I left off have been thwarted by my desire to relax after a day at work, play with Trent instead of exercise, and consume lots of cookies and other delicious foods with no regret. I have seriously written about four “time to lose the weight” posts over the last year…none of which have been posted due to fear that I would fail or not make it to the first goal. Life is unpredictable with a baby, but knowing that my 30th birthday and a cruise were coming up in the near future was enough to make me finally get serious. And since Trent has grown to not mind being in the stroller and Brett was also on board with a plan, I knew I could possibly have the recipe for success this time.

I was willing to try anything (healthy, of course) to see what worked as part of my plan. Enter the Jawbone UP.

Live Better. Start Now. Jawbone UP. Track your sleep activity, steps, calorie intake and more with the Jawbone UP wrist sensor and free mobile app. UP gives you meaningful, personalized insights so you can make lasting improvements to your everyday life.

· UP is a system that takes a holistic approach to a healthy lifestyle.

· The wristband tracks your movement and sleep in the background.

· The app displays your data, lets you add things like meals and mood, and delivers insights that keep you moving forward.

Here are some additional product specs:

Tracks motion, distance, location and speed for efficient monitoring of your workout.

Measures steps taken and calories burned to help you keep track of your progress.

Watch-style design

Keeps your information within easy reach.

Up to 10-day battery life; allows long-lasting use.

Syncs with your iPhone so you can organize your long-term data (requires app download).

Comes in several colors (so hard to choose between mint, red and black!)

Water-resistant up to 3.3′

For use in most weather conditions.

Uses MotionX technology.

Wow…what a shock I had. There I was, sitting at my desk all day at work and then coming home and walking around the block a few times thinking that was enough. I initially set a daily steps goal of 8,000. I knew 10,000 steps would be the ultimate goal, but I wanted to set it a bit lower just to see. Another great thing about the UP is that you can set an Idle timer. I set mine to 1 hour between the hours of 8:00 am and 4:30 pm (my work hours) and it will vibrate if I’ve been sitting for more than hour, telling me to get up and move my butt.

From day 1, I realized just how little I actually moved. Seeing me not reach the goal motivated me to start finding ways to fit in small amounts of walking throughout the day. I started walking around the parking lot at work during my breaks, climbing the stairs instead if it was raining outside and just getting up and moving, even if it was just to go refill my water bottle.

Pros

Motivation. Even though I had just started getting better about working out and eating well the week before, I was still just leaving the “working out” part to when I got home from work. But when I started using the UP, it motivated me to move during the day too. I sit at a desk all day, so it is extremely easy not to move. With each passing day, I took it as a challenge to move more than the day before (depending on how busy I was with work). I didn’t always reach my steps goal, but I walked a whole heck of a lot more than I did before using the UP.

Convenience. I don’t have to worry about clipping it onto an article of clothing (like you would with a pedometer). I just put it around my wrist and don’t give it a second thought unless I need to take it off before swimming. And the best part is that I don’t have to remember to put it on. Seriously guys, I can’t remember to do anything daily, so the fact that I can pretty much leave the UP on all the time guarantees that I will actually use it. The design allows for easy on/off, so no clasps or hinges to mess with while still allowing it to stay on no matter what you’re doing.

Looks. The UP looks good enough to pass for a regular bracelet, but also plain enough that guys shouldn’t be turned off from wearing one. Although I liked all the colors the UP comes in, I got mine in black and never felt that it clashed with anything in my wardrobe.

Awareness. It helps me know myself better and do what I need to do to improve. If I see my steps have been low, I will walk a little farther during my breaks or take the stairs an extra time. Each activity may seem small, but it adds up to big results. Plus, any activity is better than no activity, right?

Battery-Life. The battery lasts for up to 10 days, so I can put it on and not have to worry about that aspect for at least a week.

 

Cons

-Perhaps my biggest con is that I can’t look down and see my daily progress immediately. Fortunately, I always have my phone with me to quickly plug the UP into to see my stats as often as I want, but it would be nice to see it in real time. However, I prefer the sleekness and look of the UP to other bands that do display the information, so I would gladly forgo this con in favor of the look and feel it currently has.

-Sometimes you have to plug the UP into your phone twice in order for it to sync. Every once in a while, the UP and the app don’t recognize each other, but I just have to unplug and plug it back in and that does the trick.

-Sometimes I question how accurate the sleep stats are. As a mom with a baby that has night terrors, I am used to waking up at least once each night. So when the UP tells me I didn’t wake up, I wonder what exactly constitutes a “wake-up” for it to recognize it. Maybe you have to be awake longer than the couple of minutes I wake up for. It definitely recognizes the longer wake ups and times I’ve actually gotten out of bed.

-I wish it came with the option to charge it with a wall plug, as opposed to just the USB charger. Call me an old fogey old-fashioned, but I guess I just like having more options.

 

I consider my first week using the UP as a trial period. I was testing the waters, per se. After using it for 3 weeks, along with changes to my diet, I have lost about 8 pounds. I still have more that I want to lose, but I am more motivated than ever since seeing those scale numbers go down.

Buy:

Best Buy and BestBuy.com

Jawbone.com

Connect:

Facebook (Jawbone)

Facebook (Best Buy)

Twitter (Jawbone)

Twitter (Best Buy)

xoxo

Lynn

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I received a Jawbone UP courtesy of Best Buy for the purpose of this review. As Always, all opinions are my own.

Remember when I posted about the new monthly workout outfit subscription service called pv.Body? I got a fantastic workout outfit shipped directly to my door. As a quick follow-up, I LOVE the shirt I got. It’s extremely comfortable and fits so nicely that I wear it around the house, even sometimes when I’m not working out! I especially love how stretchy the fabric is because it makes it so convenient to breastfeed.

Well, after a few months of success, the folks at pv.Body have changed gears a little and now make their own line of workout gear called Ellie.

What does this mean for those people with pv.Body subscriptions? Your subscription will still continue as part of the Fit Fashionista Club, but the best part now is that you can pick the 2 items you want each month! Unlike with pv.Body, where you got 2 random pieces based on your style profile, with Ellie you go to the website and pick out the 2 items you want for the same monthly subscription price of $49.95.

If you happen to be indecisive, don’t worry. If you don’t pick out the 2 items you want by the 10th day of the month, Ellie will send you 2 items that they’ve chosen for you.

Even better, Ellie will offer 24 new pieces to choose from each month!

The only downside I can see some people may have with the switch is that they won’t have other name brands sent to them, like Lululemon or Nike. But honestly, you never knew what you were going to get each month anyway…at least with Ellie you have a choice, which gets rid of the risk that you won’t like what you’ve been sent. I can see how people might think this was some sort of bait-and-switch to lure customers in and then give them a different brand. For those people, you can always cancel your subscription at any time. New people might like the new options and having more control of the items they pay for. And if you still don’t like something, they still offer free returns.

Also, Ellie/pv.Body is a fairly new company, so they are still working out the kinks in their plan. Based on other reviews I’ve seen, they have been pretty slow and confusing in their responsiveness to customers. They are extremely excited in their Facebook and promotion emails, so hopefully their customer care emails and responses will follow suit. Given this big change, I am certain they are getting plenty of feedback, comments, complaints, questions and so on, which I would think will die down soon enough.

Now onto the good stuff…what I CHOSE this month!

For the top I chose The Vixen Racerback. It’s part sports bra and part loose, flowy shirt.

I don’t like sleeves, especially while working out, but I also wanted the flowy feel of a t-shirt, especially since I’m currently not in the best shape and didn’t want anything too tight. It is also long enough that I don’t have to constantly pull it down. However, it is a little more open on the sides than I thought it would be, and because of the mesh fabric, the sides start to pull down and it just looks sloppy. I really just think the cut is wrong. If they would have added a few more inches to the side, I would have loved this shirt. But in my opinion, the execution of it fell short of the idea. Plus the white mesh is sorta see-through, which I’m not too fond of. I guess I’ll be restricting the use of this shirt to inside the house.

For my bottoms, I chose the Kiss Me Capris. They are black form-fitting capris with a pink waistband with mesh overlay. They are pretty comfortable and great for transitioning into the Spring. The only thing I don’t like is how high the waist is…I feel like a granny unless I pull it down a bit. Mine are higher than in the photos below, and I’m almost 5’8″, so it’s not like I’m too short for them.

Now, in regards to the March collection. Ellie says that they will offer 24 new pieces each month. Well, perhaps they didn’t plan far enough ahead, but they just released their March collection and there are only 12 pieces. In addition, the March collection is called “Little Black Collection” - everything is black. Even though I like black and it takes up a good portion of my closet, I was kind of hoping for a little more variety. Luckily, they are still offering their February collection for you to choose from.

If you’d like to give Ellie a try, click the link below to get 20% off your first month!

20% Discount from Ellie. Look good and feel great!

 

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I am coming up on my 6 month postpartum date. Scary. In more ways than one.

I gave myself a goal to reach my pre pregnancy weight by our Disney trip. Well, that Disney trip was supposed to be this week but was cancelled to be rescheduled to a later date. Unfortunately, I didn’t reach the goal, but once I knew I wasn’t going on the trip, I kind of postponed trying to start any sort of fitness or nutrition agenda. I am about 6-7 pounds away from my pre pregnancy weight, and an additional 20 pounds away from my ultimate target weight. I don’t want to seem like I am just concentrating on numbers, but I’ve been that weight before and it felt healthy and comfortable, so I’d like to reach it again. Time to start writing those goals down on my calendar. I am a full-time working mom, so without sounding like an excuse maker, I’m going to say that it is hard to juggle working, spending time with Trent and Brett, blogging, working out, eating well, and enjoying activities and events with friends and family.

See, I even forgot to include sleep…oh sweet sweet sleep.

So, with that small blurb being said, I hope to talk about health & fitness aspects here a little more often, starting with a review of a new monthly fitness outfit subscription service called pv.Body.

pv.Body ships name-brand, quality workout outfits to your door each month for a monthly payment that’s a fraction of the retail cost. Each month, for $49.95, they send you a top and a bottom based on a style quiz you take on their website.

 

Currently, there are 11 questions on the style quiz aimed at determining pieces you’ll like. Some of the things they ask:

-Your top size and bottom size (I like this because sometimes people are different sizes)

-What workout style you prefer (yoga, gym, running, casual)

-Where you prefer to workout (at home, outside, gym)

-What kind of color schemes you like and if you like patterns

-What kind of tops you prefer (spaghetti straps, racerback, short or long-sleeve…you can pick more than one)

-What kind of bottoms you prefer (shorts, capris, long pants…you can pick more than one)

 

The style quiz helps them send you items that you will be satisfied with. With monthly shipment subscriptions becoming increasingly popular, one of the risks is that you never know what you will receive after you’ve already paid for that month. By taking the style quiz, you are reducing the risk of not liking what you get. But the best part is that if you don’t like what you received, you can return it! Also, if something doesn’t fit, you can exchange it and the shipping is paid for!

Now for the best part…what I got in my shipment!

 

It comes in this super cute pink mailer…so Brett can’t open it with the excuse “I didn’t know it was for you.” LOL

 

Inside, the outfit is folded and nicely wrapped in tissue paper. It’s like a present! Merry Christmakwanzikah to me!

 

I received a mauve racerback top with a built-in bra and grey leggings.

 

The top is from Nux. I had never heard of this brand before, but the material feels fantastically soft and seems like it is good quality that will last.

 

I absolutely LOVE this color!

 

The pants are dark gray leggings from American Apparel.

 

These pants are not something I would have chosen in the store if I were shopping for myself. I’ve always liked how they looked on other people, but have always hesitated to try them. But after trying them on, I am pleasantly surprised at how much I like them. The fabric is soft and stretchy.

 

As much as I like EACH piece, I wouldn’t wear them together (I only wore them both for the photo). I like to pair a tight piece with a looser piece to even things out…not two tight pieces or two loose pieces together. Maybe when I reach my goal, I might be more willing to wear two tight pieces together.

 

I decided to see just how much of a deal pv.Body was giving with this shipment, so I looked up these items on each company’s website.

The top is sold for $45 and the bottoms are sold for $48.

So this outfit is worth $93, a savings of $43. It’s almost like getting the top for free, especially if you consider shipping and possibly tax charged by the individual retailers. Keep in mind that this is without considering any discount codes or offers the companies may offer. Still a pretty good deal in my opinion. They state on their website that your outfit will be worth over $100, so this outfit came close but just under that amount, but still a great deal…especially if they send you more expensive or popular brands like lululemon (which seems to be what quite a few people are hoping for in their boxes).

 

If you enjoy working out, getting new clothes, getting surprises in the mail, etc. then pv.Body is for you. You can cancel at anytime if you decide it’s not for you. Simple as that. I think pv.Body would be PERFECT for busy moms who don’t have time to travel to the store to shop for new workout outfits. Heck, you don’t even have to remember to shop, it just shows up at your door! And you can retake the style quiz whenever you want to…so if you decide you want different color schemes, a different size (smaller perhaps?) or your workout style has changed, retake the quiz and pv.Body will update the type of clothes they send you!

 

Even better is that you can click on this link: www.pvbody.com, or any of the pv.Body links in this post, to get 20% off! That means you’ll only pay $39.96 for an entire name brand workout outfit!

 

Sweet! Just like this little boy! I could just eat him up. Babies can get away with chunky baby rolls…not fair.

 

Disclaimer: I received one monthly shipment/outfit to review. All opinions are my own and 100% honest.

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