In this video, I share with you tips for living life more mindfully to reduce stress, lose weight, and increase creativity. Whether you think of mindfulness as a habit or a discipline, practice truly does make perfect. You’re not going to get it completely right the first time, and that’s OK. Give yourself the grace to mess up and to embrace the fresh opportunity to start over with the next day. Start with one minute and go from there. Remember, we’re flowing like water.
If you have questions about the effects of our emotions on our bodies’ chemicals and what that has to do with health, feel free to ask them in the comments.
Did you try it? How was it? I still have to work to bring my mind back to the now or to keep it from straying to the then. How do you feel after practicing this mindfulness exercise for a few minutes? Please let me know in the comments below.
My days are seeing something new and wonderful – warmer temperatures, longer days, and free time to get outside. With these delightful improvements over snow, ice, and below-freezing wind chills, I’m taking every advantage of them that I can. I’ve gotten outside and walked. Then, the other day, something new and cool happened.
I was walking and feeling a little winded. That didn’t make sense, since I’d already done cardio two other times earlier in the week. When my fitness app gave me my 1-mile progress report, I discovered why I’d felt winded – I was averaging 3.8 miles per hour! Talk about some hustle, and that’s a pretty significant improvement over last year at this time! Then something totally new happened. I was into my second lap, and my stride shortened and my steps quickened, and next thing I know, I’m jogging and loving it! Except for up and down the football pitch with kids, I haven’t jogged since high school.
With all this time outside and the dry winter air, my skin needs a little extra TLC. After I exercise, I shower with a luscious beer- or milk-based soap. Currently, I’m
Outer Banks Beer Soap. Ideal for men, but perfect for both men and women.
using a bar of a vintage beer soap from my old brand, but if I were to use any soap I have on hand, this time of year just screams for Lavender & Goat Milk.
Goat’s Milk & Lavender Lotion – all natural with oodles of skin lovin’ stuff!
Goat’s milk has awesome skin-loving vitamins with antioxidant properties, and the lavender simply soothes the soul. This soap leaves my skin soft, supple, and moisturized – perfect for everyday skin comfort.
Truth: Right now, I’m wearing pants all day every day, which means I really don’t care how my legs look. When I do care, like when someone may actually see them, I follow my shower with a light application of Orange Blossom & Amber Body Creme. Not only does it smell heavenly, but the blend of coconut cream and avocado oil slays the alligators my legs can become on the driest of days.
Orange Blossom & Amber Coconut & Avocado Body Creme
Body Creme or not, I finish my body care routine with a light application of Tahiti Kiss Face Creme. This is my most popular product ever, and for good reason. This whisper-light face creme soaks into skin, bathing it instantly in rich
Tahiti Kiss, a luxuriously extraordinary face crème, will treat your skin to a taste of the South Pacific
moisture that doesn’t leave skin greasy. Plus, its light floral scent lingers gently all day without clashing with your favorite body scents. One customer said that it makes her skin look bronze (there’s no coloring added). Another commented about how it makes her skin glow. This creme is fabulous for either day or night!
Once I’ve exercised, washed, and moisturized, I’m ready to tackle anything the day can throw at me! Taking just that little bit of time to pamper my skin feels luxurious and indulgent, which is a great way to kick off the day!
I hope you’ll join us tomorrow, Tuesday, 23 January, as I go live talking about these awesome products and sharing some new discoveries I’ve made in pursuing the healthy coastal lifestyle. You can join us at noon eastern in the Coastal Carolina Soap Co. Facebook group.
About 13 1/2 months ago, I set out on a new health improvement regimen with four specific goals in mind:
Lose 50 pounds.
Improve my knee health.
Prepare my body for mission trips.
Be able to wear my favorite velvet choker again.
The rebrand of last year and the beginning of my new health goals that came just a few months later led my business in ways I couldn’t have even conceived when I was sitting up in bed late at night, legal pad on my knees, scribbling away at ideas. No longer was my brand just about enjoying the beach with every bath, but it became instead how you can enjoy this beach life with us as I invited you along on beach trips, the ups and downs (and bruises and road rash) of getting fit, and how we eat in our healthy coastal lifestyle.
So, here it is, over a year later. How did I do? Pretty well, but I’m not done, yet. I haven’t yet lost 50 pounds. I’ve lost 22 pounds and a LOT of inches. My knees feel awesome! The aggravation in my left knee from trying to be active with too much weight on it is gone, and my compromised right knee is doing just fine. In fact, my knees made it through two soccer seasons with no brace and just the very occasional use of NSAIDs. Back in May, I had the opportunity to go on my first mission trip since starting this journey. My dad was concerned that all the walking would stress my knees, leaving me unfit for the real work, but I was fine after some light stretches each evening. And today… This morning, I took a few moments and tried on my beloved choker, discovering to my delight that it fits again.
The past year saw some frustrations as I tried to get the rest of the family on board with my goals. However, it didn’t take more than a few months – OK, somewhere between a “few” and “several” – for my other half to stop preparing 900-calorie dinners on his nights to cook. On the other hand, it also saw me learning how to cook tasty, filling meals that weren’t horrendously laden with calories. I also got stuck on a plateau. The same weight for MONTHS! Oh my gosh, that drove me crazy! It’s only been in the past month that I’ve broken that plateau and continued dropping. But, oh, the joy! The joy of trying on jeans that are one size smaller than I had been wearing (and hiking up all the time) and instructing my poor, beleaguered daughter to “take these and see if there’s a pair smaller.” Then there is the delightful hilarity of modeling those jeans and appreciating how well they hug in all the right places. There may have been singing and dancing involved in the appreciation.
After the fall soccer season ended, I wanted to do something to keep that activity up. Nothing beats running up and down a football pitch with a dozen littles for burning calories! Our church offers aerobics once a week, so I decided to take advantage of it. This is what last week’s class looked like on my fitness app.
Sweet! 500 calories burned in just 48 minutes!
Aerobics has become fellowship time as we talk through the workouts. Some walks present holy moments with one of my daughters, usually the younger. Other walks clear my head and help me be more creative. Today’s, for example, gave me space for some crazy poetry writing, as well as drafting this article. Everything I do for me ultimately benefits my family and my business, as well.
I’m so thankful for this journey, because it has helped me get healthier, helped me be able to enjoy the beach more, helped my business grow, and helped my family. On top of that, it’s also made it possible for me to meet several new people and get to know many others better. I’m thankful that you, my customers, have willingly traversed this road with me, and I hope we continue to grow in healthiness and all that brings with it. After all, what good is living the beach life if we’re not in shape to enjoy it?
You are invited to continue to follow my progress as I continue to push to that 50-pound mark. I’ll be posting new winning recipes as I discover them and grumblinggrunting sharing what’s new in my workouts. (My aerobics instructor is talking “steps” for January, and I think half my Christmas list is from Dick’s.) And just… Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.
Brrr! I woke up a couple of days ago to discover that someone had turned off the heat! We went from summer to fall in a blink! I’m not a cold-weather person, so while Autumn is perfectly lovely, it’s not my favorite season, because I know what’s coming. (Then again, I did use the phrase “when Summer returns in December…” last night.) Be that as it may, Autumn is the perfect time of year to cook up something warm and comforting for dinner with planned-overs for either another dinner or lunch. Usually, “comforting” equals high-calorie and high-fat, but we don’t want to give up healthy for satisfying. I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want to do when it’s cold is to go outside to exercise. In fact, so many of us come as close as possible to hibernating when it gets cold, and all those pounds we lost in the spring and summer find us – and they bring friends with them! LOTS of friends!
Poking around on Facebook, I discovered this incredible slow-cooked tomato soup recipe. I love some good tomato soup on a chilly day – or any day, really – and it’s not unusual for us to have some cans in the pantry, at the very least. When I found out, though, that I could easily and quickly whip up some soup in the slow-cooker, I got happy and immediately decided to let my family be the guinea pigs for this experiment. Again, this isn’t my recipe, but it’s definitely worth sharing.
I have to keep my people to just one serving per meal, especially my teen daughter after soccer practice or a soccer game.
Tomato soup in the slow cooker
She’s usually famished after being on the field for an hour-and-a-half or so. Here’s the recipe, step-by-step…
Ingredients:
56 ounces Diced Tomatoes, Canned
2 cups Vegetable Broth/Stock
1/2 yellow onion, minced
1 cup diced carrots
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon garlic Powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 whole Bay Leaf
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup half & half or whole milk
Instructions:
Add all ingredients in slow cooker in the order listed.
Turn on slow cooker to high and cook for 3-4 hours. If you are cooking on low cook 6-8 hours.
Pour 1/2 of the slow cooker into a blender and blend until smooth, repeat with the remaining 1/2 of the soup. Pour all of the soup back into the slow cooker and serve immediately or keep warm until ready to serve.
Delicious, hot cream of tomato soup
Using half-and-half, this recipe came up to 143 calories per serving, calculating 8 servings. I prefer cooking this low and slow, turning the heat down to “warm” once the carrots are soft. Pair it with grilled cheese on whole wheat, and you’ve got a wonderful, fairly healthy dinner*. (My health app clocks this one at 400 calories, 55.7 g carbs, 22.5 g fat, and 19.7 g protein.)
Give this one a try, and drop a comment below letting me know what you think of it.
*Caveat… My health goals focus on overall health. I don’t concentrate on reducing any one nutritional element in my endeavors, choosing instead to strive for balance. If you have health needs that require you to watch your carbohydrates, fat, cholesterol, or sodium, it is your responsibility to adjust the recipe to meet your unique needs.
