Bold & Bella

Let me tell you a story... Several years ago (I think I was actually pregnant with my firstborn, and he's 8 now) I went to get the brakes checked on my mom's car. I'm an extremely chatty and friendly person, and so I'm talking to the guy who's helping me and he's telling me about how he changed his entire life by juicing. He'd watched a documentary, decided to change his life, bought a juicer, and there he was, standing in front of me, a full 80 lbs lighter than when he'd started "just eight months ago!" Fascinated, I listened intently, looked at his before and after pictures, and when he asked me if I'd like to try some of the juice that he just happened to have in the employee break room, I said, "Of course I would!" I followed him to the refrigerator took the cup he handed me with a little bit of this orange liquid and despite the fact that my mama taught me better than to take strange drinks from literal strangers, I t...

I've been a member of the #fitnessjourney for about 4 years now, ever since I had my second baby and decided I was DONE with being fat. Don't get me wrong, I'm not here to body-shame anyone. I'm just saying that from the time I got pregnant with my first kid to right after delivering my second, I was uncomfortable in my own body, so I finally decided to do something about it. Enter Beachbody  If you haven't heard of it, Beachbody is a fitness company that sells and promotes all things fitness. My favorite thing about it is that it's not just a company selling workout programs, it's a group of people who believe that fitness takes place in the mind  just as much as in the body. I was drawn in by the promise of abs in just 25 minutes a day, 5 days a week with a program called T25 (shout out to my favorite trainer, Shaun T!) and stayed for the personal development and soul-healing that came with it.  What You Get Depending on how old you are, you may r...

Picture this: You've been working hard for a couple of weeks now. You've been eating better, working out every day, drinking more water...I mean, you are really changing your life! Curiosity gets the better of you and so you decide to step on the scale. Why not get a numerical measurement of the monumental progress you're making, right? So there you stand, barefoot, in your underwear (or completely naked if you are really looking for the best number), you look down between your feet and you see...nothing. Nada. You've lost a grand total of zero pounds in 14 days. Your first thought? WTAF???? Your second thought will be to throw away all of your hard work and effort from the past two weeks (or however long you've been working and not seeing the results you want) and justify it because "the number on the scale isn't moving, anyway." Hear me when I say this (literally, picture my face and hear my voice) ... The scale is a liar!  Losing weig...

I'm a teacher. Anyone in the same profession can tell you that one of the quotes we see and hear the most is:  Failing to plan is planning to fail.  Preparation is key in the classroom. If you show up with half-baked lesson plans, the children will smell your lack of preparation, realize they outnumber you, and eat you alive. If you have well-thought-out plans, however, and you have all of your materials ready to go, things (usually) go smoothly.  The same is true for sticking to healthy eating. I know the two things seem unrelated, but stick with me here. If you're trying to make better food choices and your only plan is to depend on your so-far-unreliable willpower, the likelihood of you succeeding is slim to none. On the other hand, if you pre-plan and prepare your meals, you'll always have something on hand when you get hungry and you'll be more likely to turn down the donuts, cookies, and fun-sized candy bars waiting in the teachers' lounge.  T...

Losing weight is probably the number one New Year's Resolution in the world. It's a great goal, but it's very vague. The issue with vague goals is that they hardly ever get accomplished. Since there is SO much involved in the process, it's easy to feel overwhelmed, not know where to start, and give up on the whole idea before you even really get started. Big goals need to be broken down into smaller, more manageable chunks. If you're curious about how to lose weight, here are 5 steps that make that giant goal seem more within reach: 1- Set realistic, measurable goals.  Start off by committing to something that both makes sense for your physical capabilities and fits into your schedule. When I first started working out, I committed to a program called T25, which promised to deliver an hour's worth of gym-time in just 25 minutes, 5 days a week. At the time, my workout schedule was sporadic at best, so less than 30 minutes a day during the workweek seemed...

Squats are amazing. They work everything in your lower half and help build muscles in my favorite areas: legs and butt. The problem that many people have with squats is that they aren't doing them properly. Form is everything when it comes to any kind of weight training. Yes, even if all you're using is the weight of your own body. If done incorrectly, squatting can cause pain in your lower back and your knees...two things I'm sure everyone would like functioning properly well into their 50s. Here are some things to keep in mind when working your lower half: 1. Squeeze your abs It's a common misconception that the core is only where the abs live. In reality, your core is everything in your midsection, to include your lower back. Squeezing your tummy gives your lower back support and prevents it from having to work overtime. If the concept of squeezing your abs is foreign to you, picture your belly button and your spine coming together. 2. Put your weight in you...

It's that time of the year when everyone is trying to undo the damage from the holidays (cookies, cakes, and coquito...oh my!) There are a lot of very effective products out there that you can buy BUT if you're like me, and on top of the fact that you need to beat the bloat you're also strapped for cash, there's a simple and effective detox water that you can make yourself at home. What you'll need:                                                2 liters of water (about 8.5 cups)   3 stalks of celery 1/4 cup of sliced ginger  The Good Stuff  Ginger has a long-standing reputation as nature's ibuprofen, helping to settle upset stomachs and ease inflammation, but did you know that celery has the same effect? The combination of these two anti-inflammatory ingredients makes this detox water highly effective.  In additi...

Living a healthy lifestyle is challenging all the time, but during the holidays? It's so much harder. I don't know about y'all but I turn into a bear. I eat like I'm storing up for winter, and sleep like hibernation is a marathon that necessitates training. In short, the struggle is real. My solution to this problem is usually to just let myself go. I YOLO my way through life from November to January, squeeze in workouts when it's convenient and tell myself I'll do better when I get into the new year. The only problem is that I go into each new year rounder and heavier and it takes about 6 weeks to get back on track. This year I promised myself to do better and stay on track during the cold months and see if I can emerge in the new year looking and feeling like my normal self. To do this, all I really have to do is keep up with my regular routine, but with zero breaks. Scheduling workouts first thing in the morning - Each person does what works for them....