Posts Tagged "Fitness"

Books I want to read!

Posted by on Mar 30, 2012 in Fashionably Interior Design | 0 comments

 

Hello! TGIF! This week has been crazy busy and emotional, but surprisingly the week has gone by fast. The other night on my way home from work, I stopped by Barnes and Nobles.  I mentioned on Twitter that I am so much like my dad, because I am completely entertained moseying around a book store thumbing through the pages of books. There are so many books I want to read, but I don’t have enough time too.  I probably have more than 10 books sitting on my bookshelves at home, that I want to read and haven’t had enough time.  The funny part is I still want to buy more books! I think I like to collect books…lol. Although Nooks and all the different tablets are out, I still prefer to read a traditional book.  I like to flip pages and there is something about the smell of books I like.  Well, as I was saying the other night on my way home I spent a couple hours in the bookstore and I came across three books I would like to add to my collection.  You all know I love food, fashion,interior design and fitness, duh?   So naturally, I love reading about all of those topics.  I found two interior design books and one fashion/etiquette book!  These books look so fun and they would also make great coffee table books!  Do you have any books your currently coveting on one of my favorite four topics?  If so, please share, I obviously enjoy adding to my collection. :)

XO,
Rachel Ashley

 

 

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You Only Regret the Workouts Your Don’t Do!

Posted by on Mar 21, 2012 in Fashionably Fit | 0 comments

I love the title of today’s post!  I am usually most disappointed in myself when I don’t workout or eat properly!  I don’t like the way my body feels when I haven’t worked out and I definitely don’t like the way my insides feel when I haven’t eaten the way I should!  If you can’t make it to the gym, go for a walk, run or bicycle ride outside.  If its too cold outside to exercise pop in a workout DVD!  If you don’t have a workout DVD, use this workout!  Basically, I am trying to tell you, there is NO EXCUSE for not working out!  Remember how good your muscles and body feels after you workout!  Remember how good your stomach feels and your insides feel when you eat properly!   I hope that you will remember these feelings when your offered a piece of cake or you don’t feel like putting on your workout clothes and hitting the gym!  I encourage you to take small steps everyday to better health, believe me you won’t regret it!

BTW: I love the new RealFlex Graphic Reebok’s! You can choose your colors!  I love bright pink, yellow and blue, seen above, no one will miss you in the gym!

XO,
Rachel Ashley

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Endocrine Disruptors

Posted by on Mar 14, 2012 in Fashionably Fit | 1 comment

Good Morning!  I wanted to share with you a little bit about endocrine disrupters that we come in contact with daily.  Some of the endocrine disruptions like pesticide laden food, we can avoid, but others like air pollution we can’t really run from.  Unfortunately, America is focused more on the bottom line, rather than the health of the people in our country.  You may be asking yourself right now, what is an endocrine disrupter; well here is a definition to help you understand what I am talking about. Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that may interfere with the body’s endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects in both humans and wildlife. A wide range of substances, both natural and man-made, are thought to cause endocrine disruption, including pharmaceuticals, dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT and other pesticides, and plasticizers such as bisphenol A.

Endocrine disruptors may be found in many everyday products– including plastic bottles, metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides. I know this is a heavy topic for some, but it is important for you to know what you’re up against; if you’re true desire is to live a healthy life!  It’s sad that we have to fight to have a healthy lifestyle.

Unfortunately, Americas are accustomed to a quick and easy lifestyle, and usually that comes with fast food, long days and late nights, little or no time to work-out or cook at home.  The rise of obesity is staggering, cancer is on the rise, and there are more and more people with health related issues than ever before.  Did you ever stop to think what could be causing it?  What has changed in America over the last century?  Here is a list of a few environmental factors that have caused these epidemics in America. In short, watch what you’re eating, putting on your skin, and be sure to exercise daily!  If you don’t have your health you won’t have much!

Things to Avoid:

Plastics (have been on the rise since the 1950’s)

Pesticides

Pharmaceuticals

Processed foods – artificial preservatives and colors, artificial sweeteners, high-fructose corn syrup, etc.

XO,
Rachel Ashley

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Carb Cycling

Posted by on Mar 8, 2012 in Fashionably Fit | 1 comment

Note: Picture is NOT property of Fashionably Living’s

Sorry I have been MIA since Sunday!  My life last week was non-stop and I was trying to catch up at work and at home.  My hubby’s birthday was Tuesday too, so that added more to my plate, of course!  But I am feeling good this morning, feeling blessed and excited that I got a good hour and half workout in before 8 AM!  Working out in the morning starts my day off so well and makes me feel accomplished!  Now I have to continue to eat right the remainder of the day and we’ll call it a success!

Tomorrow was Workout Wednesday, but we will have to supplement and be okay with Thursday!  I have been reading a lot about carb cycling and there are several trainers I really like that push this type of program.  Jamie Eason includes carb cycling in the week 10 of her 12 week LivFit trainer. Chris Powell was on Dr. Oz talking about it the other night, and several trainers on Bodybuilding.com also include this type of system in their weight loss programs.  I would agree that this type of system is the key to eliminating unwanted pounds.  It is critical that we include carbohydrates in our diets, but the key is knowing when we should and when we shouldn’t.  So I will try my best to explain it to you!  On high intensity workout days, for example legs, you should add more carbohydrates to your diet, but on lower intensity workout days, for example arms, you should minimize your carbohydrate intake.  No matter what day it is, you should always start your morning off with a breakfast that includes carbohydrates.   Carbohydrates fuel your muscles and your body giving you energy for the day, thus making it very important no matter what day it is to include carbohydrates.  A more technical definition would be…carb cycling takes the macronutrients (the proteins, fats and carbs) of your meals and manipulates them to reduce body fat to very low levels, with as little muscle cannibalization as possible.  I hope this was helpful information to you.  Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

XO,

Rachel Ashley

 

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Don’t Eat the White Stuff!

Posted by on Feb 15, 2012 in Fashionably Fit | 0 comments

Please Note: Picture is NOT property of Fashionably Living’s

Wow, I can’t believe that it’s already Wednesday!  Did you all have a lovely Valentine’s Day?  I had a wonderful evening with my hubby! When I woke up yesterday I had a dozen long stem roses, Hersey’s kisses, and pink tulips waiting on the kitchen counter for me!  I couldn’t believe it, not because my hubby doesn’t do nice things for me, he does, but I wasn’t really expecting anything this year.  He was so sweet to me and still makes me feel special every year!  I hope you all had a Happy Valentine’s day too!

Well, you all know it is Workout Wednesday!  I have a little bit of healthy advice to share with you!  When making food at home or eating out try to AVOID the white stuff!  If you don’t know what I mean by white stuff here is a small list to get you started.

  • White Bread
  • White Sugar
  • White Pasta
  • White Wraps
  • White Rice
  • White Pizza Crust
  • White Rolls
  • White Muffins
  • White Baked Goods
  • White Bagels
  • White Potatoes (not bleached but are quickly absorbed within the body leaving you hungry faster and raising insulin levels rapidly).

The two most fiber-rich and nutritious parts of a wheat seed are the outside bran layer and the germ (embryo). White flour is highly processed and is therefore missing both of these components!  These two components of wheat help to slow digestion and absorption of grains in our system (so that we don’t spike our blood sugars) and also are very nutritious.  We should be eating grains that still have these components!  Insulin is our body’s tool for sugar management.  The more of these types of foods we eat the faster/more intensely our blood sugars rise and the more insulin we eventually need to pump.  The issue here is that insulin promotes the storage of fat so the more we produce the more fat we are going to store. A book I have been wanting to read, is called “Suicide by Sugar”, by Nancy Appleton; its about how sweet white stuff represents one of our biggest dietary hazard

I challenge you today to eliminate white flour and white sugar from your diet. You should be consuming only 100% whole grains for the carbohydrate portions of your meals.  Always remember to read the labels and look for 100% whole grain.  Be careful, processed white flour also goes by the names: “enriched wheat flour” or “wheat flour.” Don’t be fooled! White bread is “dead” bread!

I hope this information is helpful and even though it may be a bit overwhelming start small!

XO,

Rachel Ashley

P.S. Be sure to workout today! I got my workout in a 7:30 am!

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