Your Healthista

After spending the last five years blogging about better food and nutrition, I decided to take on the wide world of beauty. Follow me on my journey to better beauty, one lip gloss at a time. Email questions, comments, or suggestions to...

[yourhealthista]

A sneak peek at the shelf where I keep my most-used products in my medicine cabinet, including some items I have yet to review. This gives you a good idea of how far along I am in my better beauty journey!

Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Cleanser - I feel pretty meh about this. I bought it as part of a kit and I'm not super thrilled about any of the products in it. Just trying to use it up so I can try something else.

100% Pure Red Wine Resveratol Scrub + Mask - I got this recently and have only used it a few times, but so far, I love it. Smells awesome and feels soft on the skin.

Juice Beauty Green Apple Blemish Clearing Peel - This is part of the kit I mentioned in #1, and I'm not a huge fan of it.

100% Pure Organic Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream - I'm not typically an eye cream person (I don't think I have the issues that eye cream tries to address), but I wanted to try this because it's one of 100% Pure's best-selling products. I've only used it once or twice but so far, so good.

SheaMoisture Reconstructive Finishing Elixir - I did a lite review of this product here, but I continue to use this more as a body oil than for my hair (it's a bit heavy even for my course/medium thick/frizzy hair).

SheaMoisture Thickening Growth Milk - More on that in this post, but all in all, I still like this stuff.

100% Pure Purity Hydrating Tonique - I reviewed this pretty thoroughly here. I like it well enough, though I'm not sure it helps a ton with breakouts. 

Crystal Body Deodorant Stick - Just posted a review of this stuff. Definitely liking it!

Glow by Dr. Brandt Overnight Resurfacing Serum - Not necessarily part of a better beauty regimen but this stuff is absolutely my HOLY GRAIL acne treatment. Hilariously, it doesn't seemed to be designed for acne (it's marketed more at aging skin) but out of all the non-Rx acne products I've tried, this one works wonders on my skin. I buy it as part of the Glow kit from Sephora and use the daytime product too (which didn't make it into the pic). I keep buying it during bad skin months despite its ridiculous price tag. The crazy price -- $65 for one ounce of product -- is why I only let myself buy it when my skin is particularly bad. But seriously, guys, this is the only thing that I can count on when my breakouts get bad and I'll probably continue to suck it up and buy it because it's amazing.

Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Face Cream - Now we're getting into the more conventional products. I got this as a gift and I can't say I notice a difference when I use it -- which I haven't been doing lately because the Glow serum mentioned above seems to work for both aging skin AND acne. It's seriously a miracle product.

Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover - Just your standard eye makeup remover. I'm sure there are better options out there, but I'll finish what I have before I scope out a more natural version.

Clean & Clear Popped Pimple Relief Drying Paste - I bought this out of desperation while traveling and I don't like it at all. I should throw it away but sometimes I try it again just to make sure I hate it (do you ever do that?). It looks ridiculous on (BRIGHT white) and seems to make pimples, and popped pimples, look worse in the morning. Boo.

[yourhealthista]

Better Bath & Body: Crystal Rock Deodorant

I'm not even going to apologize for how long it's been between posts because I honestly didn't even know if I would ever have time to pick up this blog again! But I was just so dang excited to tell you about this product that I had to make an appearance. Soon after I re-started my blog with the new better beauty direction, I got a new job -- a new job that consumes almost every waking moment of my life (in a good way, if that's possible!). My commute is long, I travel a fair amount for work, and I'm still adjusting to life in the Bay. I love (almost) every moment of it, but I miss having actual hobbies.

One of my 2014 hopes is that I can make more time for blogging because I love talking beauty products and I love experimenting with new ones... and then telling you about them. I've realized over the past couple months that although I definitely do want to stay focused on BETTER beauty products, it's not realistic for me to buy 100% Filthy Fifteen-free products 100% of the time. So I might include some products that aren't necessarily better ingredient-wise, but are hopefully better in other ways. The product I'm here to talk about today, however, is completely free of any Filthy Fifteen ingredient. In fact, it only has one ingredient.

I was so dreading the search for a "natural" deodorant. For me, a better deodorant means one free of aluminum chlorohydrate, the controversial ingredient in deodorant. Or in other words, the ingredient in deodorant that actually works. I've tried Toms before and was thoroughly unimpressed, and then more recently, I tried an Alba version that was just like the Toms. It just didn't stop stank or sweat at all, and the "natural" scent combined with my natural odor actually smelled worse to me than nothing at all. Also, many of the "natural" deodorants I saw still contained Fragrance (Parfum), which is technically a no-no, even if it is ambiguous.

To say I was pleasantly surprised with Crystal deodorant is an understatement. I mean, I had SUPER low expectations for this stuff. First of all, it's weird. You have to wet it to put it on, and I hate wet-feeling deodorants (I hate the gel ones). Secondly, it literally looks like a rock crystal, which is super weird. It essentially is a rock -- its only ingredient is natural mineral salts.

But surprise, guys, it actually works! I would say I get a good 12-15 hours out of this stuff without smelling anything nasty. It has no natural scent, so my armpits basically smell like whatever soap I used before I put it on. I do highly recommend applying it directly out of the shower because like I said, it tends to just make your armpits smell like whatever they smelled like when you put it on -- which means it doesn't necessarily cancel out any odor you may already have, it just prevents NEW odor. Now for the breakdown...

What it costs: Around $5-7. Doesn't seem particularly insane for deodorant, right? I've also seen it in spray form, which I haven't tried.

What it says it does: “Kills odor causing bacteria for up to 24 hours without the use of synthetic fragrance or harmful chemicals. Gentle. Non-sticky. Non-staining." What’s in it: Literally just the one ingredient: Natural Mineral Salts.

What it smells/feels like: It smells like nothing. I kinda wish it had a pretty scent, but on the other hand, I'd rather not mix eucalyptus or whatever with BO smell. It also dries instantly, meaning it never feels wet despite having to wet it before application. Love that. What it actually does: Definitely keeps me odor-free for at least 12+ hours (workout-tested). Definitely works better when I use it fresh out of the shower than if I'm reapplying after not having showered, but still not bad even on reapplication.

Would I repurchase: Already have! I convinced my hubs to get the men's version, which is exactly the same as the women's version except with different packaging. I'll ding them a bit for the sexist marketing (if it's literally the same product, why not a gender-neutral package?!). Better Beauty Rating (Worse, Okay, Good, Better, Best): Hands-down, Better. Almost gave it a Best except for a couple things: 1) it gets kind of messy. The natural minerals kind of leak out of the package. And 2) it doesn't smell like anything, which sometimes bugs me. Occasionally, I want to lift my arms and have it smell like flowers, you know?! I saw on their website that they sell some deodorant sprays with natural fragrance ("Cobalt Sky," among others), but I can't tell what's in them. I'd definitely experiment with those.

All in all, I highly recommend this product. It even works on stankier, smellier dudes AND doesn't make me feel self-conscious when I'm working out.

So for the holiday season, I give you a natural deodorant that legit works. Happy holidays! May you use better deodorant in the new year.

[yourhealthista]

Better Drugstore Beauty: SheaMoisture

Perusing the drugstore just got a LOT less fun now that I have much stricter standards for what I can try. So it's a fun surprise when I come across a drugstore brand that truly meets my criteria. I picked up the above SheaMoisture products on a recent trip to Walgreens, but you can also find the line at Target and CVS. SheaMoisture is a line of organic hair, bath, body, and shave products made with all-natural ingredients. And I mean truly, guys. There's nothing shady on the ingredient lists . Here's the list for the Reconstructing Finishing Elixir:

The prices are a little steeper than your average drugstore hair care product, but definitely worth it to find better hair care at the drugstore! Much of SheaMoisture's hair care line (the only products I've tried so far) seem to be formulated for people with courser, curly hair. My hair falls somewhere on that spectrum, but it's probably on the straighter, less-course end. I have weird hair that can be frizzy, wavy, curly, thin, or thick depending on the day (yeah, it's fun). SheaMoisture products definitely seem to calm down and de-frizz my hair, but I have to be careful about using too much of any product, otherwise it's oil city.

I've actually been using the Reconstructing Finishing Elixir as a moisturizing body spray because I've found that using it on my damp hair just makes it look greasy. I haven't tried using it on dry hair, though. My favorite product of the three I've tried so far is definitely the Thickening Growth Milk. I'm not sure how thickening it is, but it definitely de-frizzes my hair without weighing it down. Oh! And I used to have this Coconut & Hibiscus Hold & Shine Mist, which is nice for refreshing curls and smells amaaaaazing. I kept it in my desk at work and every time I sprayed it, I would get comments like "What smells like a beach?! I WANT TO GO TO THERE." I think I've also tried a body scrub at some point, but I can't remember which one. I will absolutely be trying more of SheaMoisture's line -- I'm interested in trying some of their non-hair care items! Have you guys tried the SheaMoisture line? What did you think?

Alsoooo, would you want to see a detailed review of any of the above products? If so, which one?

[yourhealthista]

Better Bath & Body: Everyday Shea Moisturizing Shea Butter Bubble Bath

Note: I purchased this product with my own monies. I promise to let you all know if I ever review a product that I didn't buy myself! When did stores stop carrying bubble bath?! Maybe it's just me, but I haven't been able to find plain old bubble bath at a drugstore or Target-type place in a long time. I usually end up using body wash as bubble bath, which doesn't work as well (obv). So imagine my surprise when I find not one, but like five varieties of straight up body wash at a natural pharmacy/drugstore I visited recently! One of them was Everyday Shea's take on bubble bath, and I have to say, I'm really into it. The bath tub in my last place didn't work, but now that I have a functioning tub, I'm re-obsessed with baths... and these bubbles make them even better. What it looks like:

Pretty basic bubble bath-y looking package. I guess it's nice that you can see how much you have left. You definitely don't need a lot of product to get a ton of bubbles.

What it costs: $13.99 online, but I'm pretty sure I didn't pay that much in the store. $13.99 is kinda pricey for bubble bath, right?! I want to say this was under $10 in the store, but unfortunately, I can't remember and don't have the receipt.

What it says it does: "This naturally foaming, non-irritating, gentle bubble bath is handmade with moisturizing, Certified Fair Trade shea butter to nourish and soften your skin. Infused with fresh herbal extracts - clary sage to uplift the spirits and calm nerves, and African yam to help regulate mood and promote relaxation." What’s in it: Here's a picture of the ingredient list since they don't list the ingredients online:

Nothing on my Filthy Fifteen list! Love the uber-short ingredient list full of completely recognizable stuff.

What it smells/feels like: This stuff definitely has an herbal/medicinal scent that I wouldn't necessarily describe as Vanilla Citrus Mint at all. In fact, all I can really smell is lavender with maybe a hint of citrus. I have a feeling many of my Better Beauty products will end up smelling like lavender. Sighhhhh... if only I liked lavender better. That said, the smell isn't terrible, it's just not amazing. What it actually does: Makes lots of bubbles! I loooove the bubbles I can get with this stuff. They last the whole time I'm in the bath (maybe 15-30 minutes) without totally deflating, and they feel totally luxurious.

Would I repurchase: Yeah! I think I would. Despite the price tag, it's hard to find bubble bath as it is, much less better-for-you suds. I hate the idea of soaking in bubbles that are full of harsh chemicals and irritants. For that reason alone, I think I'll be repurchasing this product or testing others like it. I'm also interested in trying Everyday Shea's lotions and other products. The short ingredient lists really get me! Better Beauty Rating (Worse, Okay, Good, Better, Best): I can confidently give this a Better ranking. The only thing that stops it from being a Best product? The average to below average scent. Otherwise, I'd say it does what it says it's going to do and performs admirably!

[yourhealthista]

Better Skin Care: 100% Pure Purity Hydrating Tonique Acne Care

After realizing that I had approximately TWO products that met my new, pretty strict beauty criteria, I pretty much immediately decided it was time to pick up a few things to start reviewing. Online searches quickly led me to 100% Pure Cosmetics, which has a bevy of makeup, skin care, and bath/body items that totally align with my better beauty standards. Imagine my shock when I was strolling in Berkeley and actually came across one of their three retail stores! I had no idea they were based in California, much less a short drive away from me. Cue me being super excited and dragging my mom (who was visiting at the time) and friend into the store. I definitely had to try a couple things, and the first thing I selected was the Purity Hydrating Tonique. I know, "tonique." But whatever, I rolled with it.

I've never really been a big toner person, but since I don't own any already, it didn't seem like such a frivolous purchase. I'm trying to use up my conventional beauty products as best I can before adding too many new ones.

I've been using this toner for a few, so I feel like I can give you a well-rounded review.

What it looks like:

Check out the beautiful cardboard packaging it comes in! It felt luxurious just opening the product.

Inside the cardboard tube is a heavy opaque glass bottle that also feels pretty luxurious and expensive. I definitely give the packaging high marks.

What it says it does: "Purity Tonique is formulated specifically to give you a clear complexion and to protect against future breakouts. This purifying facial toner delivers hydration to skin cells while fighting against blemishes. Hyaluronic acid delivers organic lavender hydrosol and organic aloe to thirsty skin cells..." What's in it: Organic Lavandula Angustifolia Aqua (Lavender Hydrosol)1, Organic Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Juice) Leaf2, Extracts of Calendula Officinalis (Calendula) Flower, Echinacea Purpurea (Echinacea), Hydrastis Canadensis (Goldenseal), Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Flower/Leaf/Stem and Lonicera Caprifolium (Japanese Honeysuckle), Hyaluronic Acid

Nothing that's on my Filthy Fifteen list!

What it smells/feels like: It definitely has an herbal-y scent, and I think the lavender and tea tree it contains is probably partially to blame for that. Lavender isn't one of my favorite scents, so I'm not in love with the smell. But I don't hate it, either. Let's say I'm neutral, but if you hate herbal scents, this might not be for you. It feels like a cool mist and does absorb into the skin fairly quickly with no damp or sticky residue. What it actually does: This stuff definitely feels good to spray on my face. It's refreshing and I suppose does feel a bit hydrating (which I don't really need -- my skin is fairly oily). But I'm not in the market for just a "feel-good" product. So does it actually help reduce/prevent acne?

I'm going to tentatively say yes. I think this stuff calms my skin down. If it's red or blotchy from me poking at my pimples (a total no-no that I indulge in far too often), spraying some tonique does seem to soothe it. I've also used it as a priming spray before makeup and I would maybe say it helped minimize oil but I think I'd have to try it a few more times to be sure.

I've also noticed less pimples in general, but when my hormones started to change around my period, it seemed to be powerless to fight them.

Would I repurchase: Eh, probably not. It's a nice product that feels good on the skin and maybe fights the good fight against my pimples a bit. It also makes me feel like I'm at a spa, which I'll admit is plus. But I don't think I'd shell out $21 for it again. My experience with this product hasn't turned me off from 100% Pure skincare products whatsoever, though. I think they're made of high-quality ingredients, and I bet there are some real gems among the bunch of otherwise solid products. Better Beauty Rating (Worse, Okay, Good, Better, Best): I'm going to give this a solid Good. It gets higher marks for packaging and feel on my skin, but it's not like I woke up in the morning after using it with perfectly clear skin (not that I expected to). I think it's worth a try if you want a fancy product to calm your skin and make your bathroom feel like a spa.

Okay! So this has been my first Better Beauty review. What do you guys think? Did I skip anything you want to know? Want to see more of these?

[yourhealthista]

Just in case you missed it yesterday, I'm using this list to evaluate all of my current beauty products. Currently taking bets on how many (if any) products I own that contain NONE of these ingredients. I'll post about what I discover in the next couple days!

[yourhealthista]

The Filthy Fifteen: Baddies of the Beauty World

Let's call this Day One of my Journey to Better Beauty, as I'm calling it. Diving right in! First, let's get one thing straight: chemical-free beauty isn't possible. Beauty products are, by definition, made up of chemicals. I mean, water is technically a chemical. The trick is just figuring out which chemicals don't need to ever be rubbed into your face/eyes/skin/etc. So the first step toward cleaning up my beauty regimen is figuring out exactly which beauty ingredients are kinda shady.

Little did I know (well, that's not entirely true -- I totally did know) how hard it would be to define those ingredients. While there are some ingredients that everyone pretty much agrees should be totally avoided (aluminum and parabens always make the list, for example), there are ingredients that appear on some "AVOID" and "Dirty Dozen" lists, but not on others.

I tried to sift through the complete and utter information overload and pick the ingredients that I'll personally be trying to eliminate. This list might change over time, but it's my starting point. Your personal list might look different, and that's TOTALLY okay. I also don't want to go into the science behind each why I'm avoiding each ingredient because I am most certainly not qualified to do that, and other sources can tell you much more than I can. I recommend starting with this article. It's super comprehensive and service-y. Basically, all the ingredients I'm avoiding are carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, pesticides, reproductive toxins, or some combination thereof.

Okay, let's not start freaking out yet. Your lipstick isn't straight up giving you cancer. But for someone like me, who uses a ton of products and uses them often, it makes sense to eliminate unsafe ingredients as thoroughly as possible. I fully understand this will take some time, and I'm not about to throw out all my products and spend a ton of money on new ones all at once. I'm just vowing to be much more mindful of my product choices going forward.

So to make things easier, I put together a little graphic to use as a cheat sheet! I'm pretty sure I'll need to refer to it every time I make a beauty purchase from now on since some of the ingredient names aren't exactly easy to remember. So here it is... the Filthy Fifteen, the baddies of the beauty world (from what I can tell).

Alright, so we have a starting point! We have a Day One! We have a long road in front of us, but at least now, we have a map. My task over the next couple days will be going through all my beauty products and trying to figure out which ones meet my new criteria. I have a feeling it... won't be very many (if any). Oh, and this video pretty much seems to be a requisite for understanding the history of the beauty industry and how it came to be as sketchy as it is today.

And here are a couple more resources when it comes to researching safer beauty: The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetics Database

Let me know what you think of all this! And if you've already started your journey to better beauty, I'm curious: where did you start?

[yourhealthista]

Pivot!

Someone I know who lives out here in the Bay once joked that he wanted to start a company called Pivot and whenever anyone asked what they did, he'd say "I'll tell you tomorrow."

I figured now that I'm in the land of startups, what better word to use to describe what I'm about to do with my blog? I'm about to get all share-y, so sit tight.

I miss blogging, and I miss being a blogger. But I don't know if continuing to write about health, fitness, and nutrition is really something that interests me. I guess part of it is that I feel like I've said all I can say on the subject. I know that's not literally true, but I feel like everything I could say now would be a regurgitation of things I've already said, just said in a different way. Kind of like every women's magazine ever written. Different headline, same story. But like I said, I miss blogging. I feel like at my core, I'm a blogger. It's just what I do.

When I first launched this blog as Your Nutritionista back in 2008, I started it because I had an epiphany while I was driving to my office one day. The name literally came to me in a flash of inspiration and as soon as I got back to my office (funnily enough, I had a tumblr called officed at the time), I immediately created Your Nutritionista. Content came naturally to me because I was excited and passionate about the subject of food and nutrition -- a straight-talking kind of nutrition, for real people. Or at least, that's the way I saw it.

I was taking a shower not more than 15 minutes ago when I had a very similar epiphany, so striking that I had to sit down and write this post RIGHTTHISMINUTE even though it's almost 11pm here, which is decisively past my bedtime.

A little back story: Over the past few months, I've started a full-blown relationship with beauty products of all kinds (hair care, makeup, etc.). I've ditched my healthy living blogs for beauty blogs, and I've ditched former mecca Trader Joe's for Sephora and Ulta (okay, let's keep it real, I still love TJs, but you get the point). But, over the past week or two, I've started to take a serious look at my beauty products. Just like the revelation I had about my diet many years ago, I realized all my beauty stuff was filled with weird chemicals we have no idea about.

And I realized it was time to clean up my beauty products, just like I cleaned up my diet. The problem was, when I tried to find a resource for effective, chemical-free beauty, I couldn't find much. At least, compared to how much info is out there about conventional beauty products. So what I'd like to do is invite you guys to join me on a journey to clean up my beauty products. "Journey" sounds cheesy, but I think that's what it will be.

What I'm thinking is that I'll try new stuff (including DIY stuff like this), write reviews, and post general thoughts about things like my struggle to find an effective natural deodorant (the struggle is REAL, you guys, the struggle is SO REAL). I'm new to the chemical-free beauty game, and I'm no beauty guru, but I AM a girl who hears birds sing when she walks into an Ulta. So I think I can do this for you guys. And for me. Because what's the point of avoiding food with extra junk when you're just slathering that same junk all over your face?! I promise not to get too weird with it either. Tell me if I am, okay? And I'll try to do this blog in a way that doesn't come off as preachy, because like I said, I'm new to this. I'm literally starting from square one when it comes to chemical-free beauty. If you have ideas for me, I'm all ears (email me!). I'd love to know what you'd love to know.

And finally, THANK YOU for coming along with me for the ride. Even if you decide my new subject matter isn't for you, that's okay. I appreciate every single one of you.

I know this was a stupidly long post and I apologize. The next one will be shorter.

[yourhealthista]

Wedding #1: Courthouse Ceremony

My tale of three weddings begins in February 2013.

Who: Leah and Adrian What: Legal ceremony

Where: Courthouse in the city where Adrian lived

When: February 14, 2013

Officiant: The mayor of the city

Guests: Leah's parents, Adrian's parents via Skype

Reception: My parents took us to dinner at Beans & Cornbread after the ceremony.

Wedding-y Details: The dress was a simple short dress from White House Black Market. I got a turquoise sweater from Target the same day. The colors turquoise/teal and tangerine/orange carried throughout all three weddings. Adrian wore whatever suit he had that wasn't already packed. I also wore the same turquoise earrings from KTCollection and shoes from Sofft for all three weddings.

Why: Adrian was setting off for a startup accelerator program in San Francisco on February 15th. We wanted to tie the knot before he left (mostly for insurance purposes, but also so that we'd actually be legally married before our second wedding). Valentine's Day seemed like a cheesy choice for our legal wedding, but all in all, a fitting one.

Memories: Getting ready in the bathroom at my office with a coworker/friend snapping pics. Smiling a lot. Everything feeling surreal. My mom crying a lot. Me not crying as much as I thought I would.

I highly recommend courthouse weddings, by the way. They're simple and really romantic in a lot of ways.

Stay tuned for weddings #2 and #3!

[yourhealthista]

Hello? Is this thing on?

Hi! It's me, Your Healthista. Deadbeat blogger. Also known as Leah. I'm coming off of a five month hiatus. I've never gone that long without blogging! But it was for a good reason, I promise. I got married (twice -- no, three times -- to the same dude) and moved across the country. I'm living in a new city and have to deal with lots of health... challenges, shall we say. If anyone is still out there, tell me: Want to hear about it?

[yourhealthista]

The Top 7 Myths about Crossfit and Why They're Totally FALSE

I understand that Crossfit isn't for everyone. I GET IT. But don't let the myths about Crossfit give you an excuse not to try it, okay? If you're even a little bit interested, I would highly recommend trying it at least 4-5 times (once isn't really enough to get a good feel for it). It's literally changed my life.

Myth #1: Crossfit is only for super-fit people. Entirely untrue. One of the best and most amazing things about Crossfit is that it's scalable to any level. I think people hear that and don't believe it, but it's true. We have people of all ages, shapes, and abilities at my box, and the most wonderful thing is that everyone cheers everyone else on. I'm genuinely happy when my friends get PRs or push themselves to new heights. Warm and fuzzy feelings abound in Crossfit!

So obviously, Camille is super-fit. But you don't have to be to get a LOT out of Crossfit!

Myth #2: Crossfit is expensive. Crossfit is only expensive if you compare it to regular gyms. It's CHEAP when you compare it to the cost of personal training, which to me, is a more apt comparison. I paid around $700 for three months of personal training at one 60-minute session per week. Crossfit costs anywhere between $150-300/month, depending on where you live, but you can go as many times as you want. Since each session is like a group personal training session, it actually costs about half as much as you'd get charged at a standard gym!

Myth #3: Crossfit is a cult. GAHHHHH, I'm so sick of hearing this. Crossfit is a cult as much as any group of people interested in the same thing is a cult! We all like talking about Crossfit when we're together because we all DO Crossfit. If you got together with a bunch of coworkers outside of work, isn't it likely that you'd spend at least part of the time inadvertently talking about work? Same concept. It's what we all have in common, so it's easy to talk about! Keep reading for Myths #4-7!

Me (on top) and a few CF friends (Sara & Hillary) -- only fitter! I'll admit, Hills is a little bit of a beast, but she's a coach! Myth #5: You have to eat Paleo if you do Crossfit.

While most Crossfit boxes might encourage Paleo or Whole30 eating, you certainly don't have to eat that way. Just eat in the way that fuels you well and makes you feel good! I would say our box is about 50/50 Paleo vs. non-Paleo eaters. As long as you're eating whole foods that don't slow you down, your coach probably won't take much issue with it! Myth #6: You can't mix other workouts with Crossfit.

Not at all! I have Crossfit friends that run, do jazzercise, take yoga, etc. I even throw in the occasional Zumba class along with my Crossfit regimen. As long as you're careful, you can absolutely mix Crossfit into a varied workout routine.

Myth #7: Crossfit encourages puking.

Yes, some people pride themselves on getting to that pukey point in a workout, but that's certainly not everyone. But it's easy to scale the workout so you never reach that point. The important thing is to make sure you're not feeling comfortable all the time -- push yourself just outside your comfort zone to the point where you're reaping the benefits but not feeling ill. You can always ask your coach to help you find the right way to scale, too. If your coach is pushing you too hard and you feel uncomfortable, you're at the wrong box. The best coaches know when to push and when to lay off.

If you do Crossfit, what other myths drive you nuts?

[yourhealthista]

Potlucking Out

I told you guys that I'm doing a January Whole30 with my dad, my sister, and a few people from my Crossfit box. Well, we all got smart and decided to throw a Whole30 potluck. Let me tell you -- that was ageniusidea, for a few reasons:

It reminded me of all the delicious Whole30 food out there, because sometimes, it's all too easy to get stuck in a rut.

It's a fun, food-related event we could all participate in without feeling at all guilty or pressured to compromise our goals.

It was an opportunity to trade Whole30 tips, tricks, raves, and woes.

I tried to make Paleo banana bread from this recipe (yes, totally SWYPO, but we all agreed that SWYPO was okay for this potluck!). Unfortunately, as I tried to flip it out of the pan as instructed, it completely broke in half. Though my kind friends tried to persuade me to bring it anyway, I just couldn't serve a crumbled mess of a dish. So I made fruit salad instead.

Everyone else had better luck. Check out my plate!

There was eggplant parmesan without the parmesan (breaded in almond meal), veggies and guac, egg muffins, roasted veggies, delicious salad, a unique potato and venison dish with egg that would make a really yummy breakfast, and of course, my boring fruit salad.

We also had a drink that will go down as my favorite Whole30-compliant drink EVER:

It's Peach-Pear LaCroix (apparently a new-to-2012 flavor!) with lime and pomegranate seeds. AWESOME and so festive!

There was plenty of good company too...

My Crossfit coach Jarrod is on the left and bad-ass Crossfitter Jen is on the right. She's a quiet beast! If you live in the Detroit area, please don't sleep on Crossfit Benchmark Workouts. It's the best box around!

More CF friends: Terri and Becks.

So if you're on a healthy eating/living mission in 2013, please don't be afraid to get your friends involved. Having a healthy potluck is probably one of the best ways to share recipes, ideas, and dang good food.

Happy potlucking!

[yourhealthista]

Celebrating Others Healthfully

I think one of the most difficult things about being on Whole30 is participating in the celebrations of loved ones. Saying no to non-Whole30 foods is just half the battle. The other half of the battle is trying to explain why you can't partake in birthday cake, drinks, etc.

Since I'm now on my third Whole30, I feel like I have a little bit of experience with this. Just last night, I celebrated my man's birthday without indulging in anything non-Whole30. Of course, it's easy with him since he knows what I'm doing and gets why it's important to me. It's trickier if you're around people who aren't as close or don't really understand why you eat the way you do.

Here are the things I've learned about celebrating others healthfully along the way:

It's okay -- I mean really OKAY --to say no to food. We've all been in situations where we feel really guilty about turning down food, mostly because of who's offering it to us. But you really CAN say no to food and not offer any explanation!

Sometimes no explanation is better than the truth. People have a harder time arguing with no explanation than trying to explain that your eating plan doesn't allow a certain food. "No, thanks," is absolutely acceptable in almost all situations!

You can still participate in your own way. Whether that means bringing your own special food, deciding to celebrate without food in a special way, or promising you'll treat yourself after the event, make sure you do something special or different. Otherwise, you'll feel deprived all around.

Your loved ones will never remember what you did or didn't eat. I promise you, they're not the food police. Even if it becomes a little awkward to say no to food you're offered, no one will remember who ate in no time at all. It's not worth caving just to avoid a slightly awkward situation because it won't matter at all soon enough.

You can celebrate without food. I promise, you can! For my birthday this past year, I hosted a big Zumba class. Tons of fun, no food involved.

What other tips do you have for celebrating others healthfully?

[yourhealthista]

Wedding Dress Shopping: Health for a Wedding vs. a Marriage

As I mentioned in this post, I'm getting married in the spring at two separate ceremonies (one in Mexico over Memorial Day weekend and one in my hometown three weeks later).

You can ask any of my friends to verify this, but I've never been a wedding person. I've never fantasized about my own wedding, never gotten addicted to any of the seemingly omnipresent wedding shows on TLC, never read wedding blogs, and to be honest, never really saw myself having a wedding in the conventional sense. I always said, "If my husband-to-be wants to have a wedding, we can have one. But I don't need one."

Well, guess what? My husband-to-be wants a wedding. Don't get me wrong: he would be completely fine eloping or just taking our families to a nice dinner after a courthouse ceremony, but he'd definitely rather have a wedding. Okay, cool. I can do that.

Once I dipped a toe into the wild, wild world of weddings, I realized I didn't know anything about them. Not having been a "wedding person" growing up was actually kind of a disadvantage. Suddenly not only did I need to find a venue, a caterer, a florist, etc., etc., etc., but I also had to find THE dress -- and look the best I've ever looked in it. Talk about pressure, right?

My goal so far while planning two weddings has been to keep things as simple, streamlined, and comfortable as possible ("as possible" being the key phrase). That doesn't include taking several days out of my life to find the "perfect" dress that would set me back a month's paycheck. Uh uh. I hopped online and thanks to recommendations from friends, ordered two dresses -- one for each ceremony -- that I thought would do just fine. And guess what? They both were lovely, and they both fit. I thought I had the perfect story to tell (because aren't weddings at least in part about the stories that make up the wedding?): I bought the first two dresses I liked online and they fit, so I'm wearing them! I'm so low-maintenance!"

But my story didn't end there. I ended up shopping around a bit (just to be sure!) and finding a better dress that I might just wear to both ceremonies.

Anyway, the point of all this wedding dress shopping talk is that it's pretty tough to shop for a wedding dress without hearing a little voice in the back of your head that says, "Don't worry, you're going to lose lots of weight for the wedding! This will look much nicer on you in a few months." It's really hard. But I really tried to find a dress that looked flattering on me just as I am now, even after a couple months of not treating my body in the best way.

All that to say, over the next five months, my goal is to become healthy for my wedding, but also for my marriage. I want to start my marriage having equipped myself with the tools I know I need to feel energetic, confident, and happy. Which for me equals eating the foods I know work with my body and exercising in the way that boosts my self-esteem and generally BAMF-ness as much as possible (right now, that's Crossfit).

That's not to say I don't want to look like a total knock out. I'd be lying if I said I didn't! But what I really want to look like is myself. Not "the best version of myself"; just the "myself" that I want to be forever (or at the very least, the "myself" that I can accomplish in an hour or two). Even though it's tempting, I probably won't get a spray tan or eyelash extensions. And you know what, I may not even wear Spanx. Where you draw the line between looking like yourself and starting to look like the long-lost cousin of yourself is totally your call. I think I know where my line is, and it may or may not include shaping undergarments. It will most definitely include a mani/pedi, though.

But back to being healthy for my marriage. I really want to take the next five months to focus on building and reinforcing my healthy habits and phasing out my not-so-healthy ones. That's not to say I'm going to go into my marriage with zero bad habits. Ah, not at all! Just that I want to go into it feeling confident that I'm starting from a place of contentment with my choices.

Anyway, I'd love to hear what you all have to say on these topics (feeling pressure to look YOURVERYBEST! on your wedding day, wedding dress shopping when you're not at your peak health, etc.).

[yourhealthista]

New Year Egg Drop Soup with Pork

This is, hands down, my new favorite recipe. I've already made it three times and I'm not sick of it. That's saying a lot because usually I have a hard time eating something more than two or three times in a row.

It's an easy recipe, but one ingredient you really can't skimp on is this one:

Sesame oil makes this recipe, so please don't try to make it without some!

You'll need (makes 4-6 servings):

2 boxes chicken broth (organic, free range is best if you can swing it)

4-5 Tbsp sesame oil, divided

5-6 heads baby bok choy

1 cup green onion, diced

1-2 lbs ground pork

2-3 Tbsp coconut aminos (or substitute with soy sauce)

4-5 eggs, whisked together

crushed red pepper to taste

salt to taste

Make it:

Begin by sauteing the ground pork in 1-2 Tbsp sesame oil in a large soup pot. When the pork is around 75-80% cooked, add the broth, coconut aminos, and crushed red pepper. The pork should look kinda like this before you add the additional ingredients:

Bring everything to a boil, then add the bok choy and green onion. Cook for about 5-10 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat source. Wait until the soup has cooled just a bit (1-2 minutes). Then, add the eggs by stirring the pot consistently while you slowly pour in the egg mixture. Turn the heat back on to low/simmer, and cook for another 5-10 minutes to help marry all the flavors. Add salt if necessary.

Garnish with more green onion if desired.

It doesn't look like much, but it is completely and utterly delicious.

For vegetarians: use diced tofu instead of pork and add rice noddles if desired. You could also add pre-made veggie wontons.

[yourhealthista]

One Month at a Time: January

I feel like I can hear all the new year's resolutions being made (or already broken) as I type this, both in the blog world and in real life. But here I sit, on the second day of 2013, without having made a single resolution, goal, or intention for the year. While I usually love the opportunity for a fresh start -- and am definitely in favor of setting SMART goals -- I think I'm going to take it one month at a time this year.

After I stepped away from the blog earlier this month, I pretty much immediately stepped into a haze of holiday goodies, abandoning all of my Here and Now principles. I only made it to Crossfit a couple times. Of course, I paid the price. I spent the holidays feeling sluggish, bloated, and not myself. I'm glad I took the pressure off -- I certainly didn't miss out on any time with family or friends because I just had to get to Crossfit -- but I'm not too happy with my holiday health performance. I didn't practice what I preach, which is disappointing.

But my policy is not to dwell, just move forward the best I can. So I'm taking it one month at a time. January will be devoted to my third Whole30. The Whole9 crew is hosting a HUGE Whole30, so it seems like a great time to jump on board. Lots of other bloggers are joining in, but my main motivation is supporting my sister, who's trying Whole30 for the first time. My dad is also taking part in his second one. A few Crossfitters from my box are also Whole30-ing this month. It's always better to do the Whole30 with partners!

When I eat Whole30, I truly feel like my body thanks me. And honestly, sometimes it's a relief to not have to think about if I should indulge in this or that. The decisions are made for me, and that's what I need right now. To read about my last Whole30, check out these posts. I also sketched out a month of Whole30 eats (complete with recipes and grocery lists) that I might just post.

We'll see what February brings, but for now, January will be all about Whole30 and getting back to Crossfit. I'm sure I lost a lot of strength, endurance, and flexibility, which is sad, but I'll get it back!

The other good reason I need to focus on one month at a time is that otherwise, this year would be totally overwhelming. With planning two weddings, a possible cross-country move, and almost inevitable time away from my boo, I just need to focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

I did, however, have a wonderful new year -- which I rang in with my two besties (and my man, not pictured).

I hope all of you rung in 2013 in a happy, happy way -- and that you'll follow me on my month-to-month journey. I'm going to try to be as honest as I can about the next few months as I try to get back to a place where I feel comfortable with my choices. You can still expect the normal recipes, workouts, and general fitness advice, but I'm hoping I can be more candid about what I'm doing, and what I'm struggling with.

Come along for the ride, won't you?

[yourhealthista]

Happy Happy

Dear Healthisa Readers,

In the spirit of rest, rejuvenation, and yes, health, I'm officially signing off for the rest of 2012.

At the time of year when things might normally be winding down, my life seems to be picking up. Work has been ramping up thanks to some new and exciting programs -- definitely relevant to the Healthista crowd, so I'll be sure to share next year after we launch!

Your Healthista Consulting has also been revving up, since a lot of people have goals for the new year they need help accomplishing.

And remember this guy? (Also mentioned in this post, this post, and this post.) After almost six years of love, we're now engaged! This is a fairly recent development, but I can already tell it will make the next six months of my life a lot more interesting (we're planning on a spring 2013 wedding. Two, actually. But more on that another time!). Though I haven't been sharing a lot of personal details on the blog lately, I wanted to fill you all in on why I'm giving myself the next couple weeks to focus on work, family, and my fiance. In fact, my only free time last weekend was spent decorating the mini tree pictured above at my man's house.

But, dear readers, I promise I'm not leaving you for good. I'm just getting reenergized to create lots of awesome content in 2013. I have some things cooking (pun 100% intended).

So please, in the next few weeks, have the happiest of happies, whatever those happies are. And if I can share one wish I have for you this holiday season, it's this: soak up all the love around you, however you can, as much as you can. I think that's the healthiest thing to do, don't you agree?