Nutrex Hawaii

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Heather

 

I have always been curious about supplements and vitamins, I think they are a great way to get extra nutrients to help your body, especially if you are a picky eater like myself. When I was given the opportunity from Nutrex Hawaii to review some of their products, I was really excited to see what they could do for me.

I was sent Spirulina in powder and pill form, as well as BioAstin. I had never heard of these before, so I did some research (and was sent some great literature) and I found out some pretty amazing stuff!

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Spirulina has been called Nature’s most powerful superfood supplement. So what is it? Its a blue-green algae found in lakes in Africa and central America. Its a complete protein with super high levels of Beta-Carotene, omega 6 fatty acid, and B vitamins, among other things like antioxidants.

The brands Hawaiian Spirulina Pacifica is the only spirulina cultivated in Biosecure zone free of pesticides. herbicides, and industrial pollutants, and this is all done in Kona, Hawaii.

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Get this, one serving of spirulina has the same levels of antioxidants, enzymes, vitamins, and minerals as 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, WHOA!

Hawaiian Spirulina Pacifica is good for:

-Your eyes

-boosting immunity

-boosting energy

-supports blood health

-is a building block for muscle tissue

-supports cellular health and immunity

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The second product I was given is BioAstin.

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This product has been called “Nature’s Anti-Inflammatory”.  It is also packed with antioxidants, and has been proven to help those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, joint and muscle soreness after exercise, and inflammation of the skin from UV exposure/sunburn. The last two are very interesting to me. As an athlete who is out in the sun a lot, I am excited to see some results regarding skin inflammation and post/workout muscle soreness.

Also, BioAstin is safe for people of all ages, and has has no known side effects. It also helps your immune function, cholesterol, eyes, brain, and central nervous system.  The key ingredient, Astaxanthin, is found in the highest concentration in the animal world in salmon. It has been thought that the strength and endurance for this fish to swim upstream can be attributed to Astaxathin. Sounds like a win win to me!

I just started taking these pills last week, and cannot wait to see the results, so stay tuned to see how I am feeling in a couple of weeks. A huge thanks to Nutrex Hawaii for letting me try the products out!

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Guess what? There is going to be a TWITTER CHAT tonight at 8:00 pm CST. Be sure to use the #SuperNutrients and join in the fun!

 

FitFluential LLC compensated me for this campaign. All opinions are my own.

QOTD: Have you ever tried a product with these benefits? Which health benefit intrigues you the most?

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Weekly Recap: May week 5

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Heather

 

I hope everyone had a good Saturday. We had an unusually low humidity day, and I went for a walk with my mom and we were able to sit in the shade on the porch without dying. It was really good to see my parents, and I think the boys had a great time at the golf tournament.

This week was pretty good in the workout department, check it out!

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Sunday: rest

Monday: 2.5 mile run, weights

Tuesday: 5 mile run, weights

Wednesday: rest, yoga/stretching

Thursday: 2 mile run, weights

Friday: weights, 20 minutes elliptical

Saturday:  20 minute walk

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summarized:

Running: 3 x’s, 9.5 miles total

Cross training: 2 x’s

weights: 4 x’s

yoga: a few minutes of stretching on my own

I did a good job keeping with my new half marathon training plan, so hopefully I will be able to keep it up!

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Also check out Friday and Saturday’s Posts:

RWS Features #26

June Goals

and in case you missed it, I was Women’s Running Magazine’s Blogger on the run for the week: Blogger on the Run

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RWS Features #26

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Heather

 

Morning! It’s the weekend! My parents are actually in town, Bobby and my dad are playing in a charity golf tournament for Bobby’s work, so mom and I are going to be hanging out today.

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Love these two. They crack me up.

I hope you all have fun things planned for the weekend, too. I am headed out to be with my mom, but I wanted to leave you with something fun to read, so it’s time to learn about another blogger in the latest addition of RWS Features!

Meet Jess! Jess blogs at Run With Jess and you can find her on twitter @RUNwJESS. She is a runner and fellow coffee lover with a great attitude and sense of humor. be sure to stop by her blog and say hello!

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1.) How/Why did you start blogging?

I started writing Run with Jess in Jan 2011 as my running journal, a place to collect and evaluate my own thoughts. It forced me to put more thought behind my training plans and made me accountable. I was quickly surprised at how many readers came my way, and even more delighted with the friendships I’ve made around the country via my blog.

2.) Describe your blog:

I try to keep Run with Jess about running and weight loss… overall fitness and health issues.  While my kids/family/work are super important in my life, Run with Jess is my place to talk running.

3.) What do you wish to accomplish by blogging?

Initially, I just wanted to keep myself on track.  Through the last year however, I’ve discovered some people are inspired by my stories and training.  So I try to keep things real… tell it like it is.  I incorporate as many “tips of the trade” into my writing as possible.  Hopefully readers learn about some new products through my reviews or pick up alternate methods in training.  Running has been such a powerful force in my life, that I really just feel the need to “pay it forward”…

4.) What is your biggest healthy living accomplishment?

My biggest accomplishment is still in the works.  I hope to raise my two daughters to be healthy and fit. It’s not easy in this society of packaged and convenience foods.  I hope they can avoid the depression and social judgments that come with obesity.  But most of all, I just want my girls to be happy with their bodies and never stress too much over the image in the mirror.  It’s a large task that will require my attention every single day.

QOTD: When you were a kid, did you eat healthy? Or was it a habit you formed later in life? Also, be sure to go by Run With Jess and say hello!

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June Goals 2012

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Heather

 

Greetings! I first want to extend a warm hello to any new readers who found me after my feature as Women’s Running magazine’s Blogger on the run. I took some time and read through every comment (all 750+ of them!) and some of you said some really sweet things about my blog, and I so appreciate you all!

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Sassy and Bella say welcome to the blog!

Welcome to RWS, and be sure to check out some of the tabs above (some have drop down menus) and look around. Here are a few places you may want to start:

My Running Story

Races

Free Disney Travel Quote

FAQ

Ok, so today is the first day of June (wow!) and I decided it was high time I set some goals for myself. I am relatively goal oriented, (aren’t most runners?) and work well when I have something to…well…work towards. I did a little brainstorming, and this is what I came up with for June:

Drink more water: I live in coastal MS. It’s hot and humid. I know I need to start upping my water intake with this heat, and the fact that I am constantly sweating during workouts from the second I walk out the door. I mean, am I going outside or walking straight into a tank full of water? I despise humidity! We have a zero water filter that we love and use every day. I need to start keeping track with how many times I refill it a day to make sure I am getting enough liquid.

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Keep up with my training plan: Two days ago, I shared with you all that I had just started a new half marathon training plan and I REALLY wanted to stick with it. Only time will tell, but this is a big goal for me! I have completed two days so far, but still have a long way to go.

Read my Bible every day: I am actually usually pretty good about this and get 5-6 days in a week, but I want to be more consistent every day of the week, not just most of the time.

Foam Roll: This needs to be a constant goal for me. With my very tight and angry IT bands and the prior issues I have had with them, I really need to remember to be proactive with this one and not wait until it starts to hurt me again to foam roll. This is just pure laziness on my part.

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Take more pictures with my DSLR: Folks I have gotten lazy. With my new iPhone, I have hardly picked up my “good” camera, except for when I am on vacation or at a particular event. The result is sub-par photos on my blog. Yes, it’s easier for me, but I need to stop with the excuses and just do it!

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QOTD: Do you have any goals for June? I would love to hear them!

*Don’t forget to enter to win a $500 Under Armour gift card!

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What Running Has Taught Me About Life

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Heather

Running has taught me some amazing things about life. Running is good for the body, the mind, and the soul. When I started my running journey, I never dreamed it would teach me so much more than how to stay fit.

-They can’t all be good days

I have a lot of good runs, but I also have a lot of really crappy ones. The bad ones make me appreciate the great ones. The same is true of life. We can’t all have good days every day or mountaintop experiences all the time. Make sure you take the time to stop and appreciate the good ones when they come, and know how to properly handle the bad ones.

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-Hard work pays off

Running is hard. You aren’t going to be an overnight success. If you want to be better, you have to train harder. Life is hard. If you want to advance in your career, make friends, pick up a new hobby, you have to put in the effort if you want results. Easier said than done, I know!

-No matter what just keep putting one foot in front of the other

I always think of the movie Finding Nemo, when Dory sings the “Just Keep Swimming” song. I have sang this song to myself many times during races! There are days when I don’t even want to face all the tasks I have to do that day. But just like in running, I can get somewhere if I just put one foot in front of the other. When the big picture is overwhelming, just take it one step, one day, at a time.

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-Don’t compare yourself with anyone but yourself, because there will always be someone better than you

This is a huge thing for me in running, blogging, and in life. In our society there is such a push to have the next best thing your friends or neighbors have. We rarely seem to be content in our own gifts and abilities, toys and careers. I race against myself, and in life, I try to be thankful and content, and not envious or jealous (in a bad way).

-Sometimes there will be heartache and pain as you chase your dreams

Dreams and goals are wonderful to have, but we were never promised life would be easy. But usually, the hardest things to get through or to, are the ones worth fighting for. Run hard and fight to reach your goals as an athlete. Fight hard and push through the pains of life as you chase your dreams.

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-Appreciate the talents and abilities I have been given, I am truly blessed

I may not be the fastest runner out there (ok, I KNOW I’m not!) But I am so blessed that I can get out of bed every morning and even go for a run. Or drive myself places, or talk to my family. Don’t take your talents for granted, and take some time to think about all the things you are grateful for.

-Never. Give. Up. You can do anything you set your mind to.

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This one speaks for itself. Never in a millions years would I have dreamed I would be chosen by Women’s Magazine as a “Blogger on the Run”. I am humbled, and so proud of myself. I have stretched and grown, and been given some amazing opportunities I never would have gotten if I had not learned some amazing life lessons from running. It truly is a wonderful teacher.

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Please do me a huge favor and go over to the blog and check out my feature as blogger on the run!There is something in it for you, too! To celebrate the magazine’s 50th issue, they are giving away some great prizes, so you can comment on my feature/post and be entered to win an entire outfit from Asics! Sweet!

A huge thank you to Women’s Running Magazine for this great honor!!

QOTD: What has running taught you about life?

Posted in fitness, Mental Health, motivation, running, tips, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

A New Plan

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Heather

 

Greetings friends! My days are all thrown off since we were off Monday. Can’t believe it’s Wednesday already! Not that I’m complaining or anything. So, today I wanted to talk training plans with you. I know there are SO many different options and opinions, so why not give you mine, right?

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Everyone loves giving opinions. Don’t you want to hear mine?!

I am going to have a RWS “honestly moment” and share a little tidbit with you. I have NEVER followed one training plan all the way through. I have taken plans, thrown them together and come up with “my own thing” a few times….and here’s the deal….

50% of me saying that is because I didn’t fully like one plan so I mashed two together to get something agreeable.

50% of me saying that is because I can get lazy and complacent and so when I don’t feel like doing a hard workout I can chalk it up to “well I am doing my own training plan so I don’t really have to do this run today.” Lame-o I know, but true.

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Can anyone relate? Am I the only one guilty of doing this? Well, this time it’s going to be different!

That being said, I am DETERMINED to, just for one training cycle, follow ONE plan all the way through and see where it takes me. The only changing I will be doing is switching a day here or there, or adding in more strength training because I don’t want to give that up. But the running, yup. Gonna do it. YOU ARE MY WITNESSES! I need you friends. My race is September 2, and it is going to be hard for me to get in some of these long runs in the heat.

This is briefly what my Smart coach plan from Runner’s World looks like:

Running: 4 x’s a week. Easy run, tempo run or speed work, easy run, long run.

Cross Train: It says “rest/XT” on 3 days. I will take at least one full day of rest, XT the other 2 and weight lift on my XT days and my easy run days.

Apparently, if I follow this plan, I can shave a good 11 minutes or so off my time which would be awesome. I am very curious to see if this actually works. We will find out soon enough eh? I can do this, I NEED to prove to myself I can follow through with that.

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QOTD: Do you follow a training plan when you are preparing for a race, wing it, mesh plans together, or something else?

Anyone notice my new social media icons on my sidebar under my picture? Check out all the different ways you can follow me! (Wow that sounded kind of stalker-ish!) Anyway, be sure to check out the cute new icons and links.

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Memorial Day Weekend in Pictures

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Heather

 

Good morning! I hope everyone enjoyed their three day weekend. I am tired but had a great time, so I am just going to share a few photos from my weekend. I would really love for you to go check out yesterdays post on leaking what you love though, so be sure to check it out!

BBQ Sunday

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Lots and lots of yard work Monday

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Then Bobby and I had dinner with my cousin, Jaimie and her husband Matt last night

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A great weekend!

QOTD: What was your favorite thing you did this weekend?

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You Leak What You Love

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Heather

 

I was reading my In Touch monthly magazine this weekend, and one of the articles really spoke to me. Ever read something and one certain line just, bam, jumps off the page and sticks with you? That’s how I felt reading a part of this article, and it really got me thinking. Well, let me back up and first tell you the part that really jumped our to me. it’s short, it’s simple. It’s profound.

You leak what you love.

Genius right? Why didn’t I think of this before? Subconsciously I’m sure I have, but for some reason, yesterday it just really spoke to me. Now, this can mean really great things for you, or not so great things. Of course, in the article I read it was in the context of Christianity and sharing the love of Jesus. I of course first and foremost want to leak the love of Christ, and I want people to see a difference in me because they see Jesus through me. But in my opinion, it doesn’t stop there.

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Leaking what you love can mean SO many different things. For instance, I LOVE health and fitness. I live it during my workouts, through the clothes I wear, through the things I tweet, my blog, it’s everywhere. I hope I leak it in a positive and encouraging way to the world.

But unfortunately, this can mean some not so great things. Fear not! Sometimes it’s good to take a nice long look in the metaphorical mirror and see what other people see in us because eventually what’s on the inside is going to come out.

anger

impatience

need for control

unkind words

envy

bitterness

All of these things can lead to self destruction and can also really hurt other people. Of course no one “loves” to be angry or impatient, but if it’s rooted in your heart you can and most likely will leak it out at some point. You can’t hide forever, and it’s not healthy to try to do so. Bottom line is two fold.

1.) If you have some things you don’t like to see in yourself, deal with them! Don’t leave them bottled up inside to leak out on someone else in a way you will regret. Get some help, tell a friend, email me, do something.

2.) Think about what you “leak” most. Not sure? What do you spend the most amount of time doing? What adjectives do people use to describe you? What do you WANT to “leak” for other people to see? I hope that through my life and my blog I leak a passion for Jesus, health and fitness, my family, encouraging others, and of course, Disney.

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What do you want to leak? Remember, you leak what you love.

QOTD: What is something you hope that you leak when you think of the phrase “you leak what you love?”

Also, Happy Memorial Day! a huge thank you to all our service men and women all over the world. Without you, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy so many freedoms and I am truly grateful for you and your families!

Posted in family, fitness, Mental Health, motivation, running, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

Weekly Recap: May Week 4

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Heather

 

Happy three day weekend! It is a scorcher here. It was 97 and VERY humid and sunny here yesterday. You step outside and it just hits you. You can’t breathe and instantly are drenched. So much fun! Despite the heat we had a good day. We workout out, did some cleaning and went to see What to Expect When You’re Expecting. I LOVED it, but then again i love cheesy romantic comedy movies. Bobby informed me we are definitely not having kids after seeing that. Good try buddy. We hit up Target and then stopped by our neighborhood pool party before settling in for the night. A great Saturday indeed, AND, a decent week of workouts (finally!!!) for Heather.

Sunday: rest

Monday: ran 2.5 miles and lifted weights

Tuesday: 10 minutes stationary bike, weights

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: ran 2 miles, weights

Friday: weights, yoga on my own about ten minutes

Saturday: ran 4 miles, weights

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Gym bathroom photo. Clearly entertaining. Oh, and I wore my red white and blue stars skirt for my Memorial Day weekend run.

I know my runs were short, but MAN it was hot this week. I either need to get up earlier to run or become BBF’s with the treadmill. Here are my totals:

Running: 8.5 miles. eh.

weights: 5 x’s, right on target!

cross training: 10 minutes stationary bike. This could use work.

yoga: 10 minutes on my own. Missed class this week because it was the day Bobby got Lasik.

I’m getting back on track after my food poisoning and vacation. I have come to grips with the fact that my running numbers are just going to have to be lower until it gets cooler. Sadly, I will have to do some long running in the heat since I am running a half on September 2, but it’s more of a fun race so I’m not too worries about it. I am home all week this week so hopefully it will be a good workout week!

I also wanted to mention today is my parent’s 35th wedding anniversary! Mom and dad we love you so much, thank you for setting a great example of what a loving home looks like and for always being there for us.

QOTD: What are you doing on this long weekend?

Are you following me on Twitter?  Lot’s of fun going on over there!

Posted in family, fitness, motivation, running, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

RWS Features #25

Posted on May 26, 2012 by Heather

 

Yay for a three day weekend! Memorial Day totally snuck up on me! The month I take a vacation in always seems so short…where did May go? I hope you all have fun weekend plans. Since we have literally been going the past four weekend, we are staying home and being low key. Cleaning, yard work, BBQ, church, date night, and hopefully some good workouts.

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Speaking of workouts, today I want to introduce you to the pure 2 raw twins Lori and Michelle (as if they need an introduction!) I have had the pleasure of meeting these sweet girls, and I can attest they are just as nice in real life as they are on their awesome blog. Can we say bakery?!?

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1. Why did you start blogging?

We started blogging as a way for us to track our own health and fitness progress. We wanted to help others that might be suffering from food allergies or digestive issues like we did.  We share about what we learn, any new products we have tried and are loving, and just overall health and fitness topics. Our blog was also a way for us to help promote our bakery – Twin Cakes Bakery.

2. Describe your blog:

Pure2raw has changed a lot of the two years.  It is now a place where we share everything from recipes, to health topics (like adult acne), to fitness, and even photography. Pure2raw is a fun, positive, sometimes serious, and honest place where we love being able to connect with others.  On pure2raw we hope to inspire others to move, to sweat, and have fun while doing it.

3. What do you hope to accomplish with your blog?

We hope to accomplish with our blog is helping out as many people as we can. Whether that is inspiring them to try a new food, like raw chocolate cheesecake, or encouraging them to challenge themselves and do something outside of their comfort zone. We encourage others to have an open mind and do not be afraid of trying something new, be willing to make mistakes, and most importantly learn something new about themselves! We hope with our daily posts we can help others live their life to the fullest.

4. What is your greatest healthy living accomplishment?

Our biggest healthy living accomplishment was running two full marathons and a few half marathons. We never thought of ourselves as runners and never would have imagined us running marathons. It was a fun goals we had plus it was good sister bonding experience. Currently we do not run, but do enjoy other healthy living accomplishments through doing challenges like holding plank!

Thanks so much girls! Everyone please be sure to follow these lovely ladies on Twitter: @pure2raw and go to their blog and say hello!

QOTD: What is a hobby that you have developed over the past 5 years you never thought you would do?

Be sure to join the Under Armour What’s Beautiful challenge and enter to win a $500 gift card from Under Armour!

Posted in fitness, Guest Post, running, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments