Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017

It’s almost New Years Eve and it is time to say goodbye to 2016.  I can’t say it was the best year of my life and I can definitely say it wasn’t the worst year of my life. Sure it had it’s highs and it’s lows and there are memories that I will never forget, but it just wasn’t a standout year.  Although it was the year that I did start this crazy adventure called blogging, in all honesty, it was really just another year.

As I say goodbye to 2016, I am entering 2017 already with a bit of change.  My job has changed in that I am still in the same role per se, but I now have the opportunity to work from my home office full time.  Being able to commute the 3.5 seconds from my bedroom to my office is definitely going to have it’s perks and I somehow think that leggings are going to become a staple in my wardrobe.  I am anticipating all the good things that can come from this change.

In 2017, I will be turning……eeeeks 45.  Yes, no longer my early 40’s but at that peak and heading closer to 50.  My goal is to say goodbye to negativity, drama and not always feeling good in my own skin and saying hello to happiness and becoming the best version of myself.  I want to stop the bad eating habits and exercise consistently.  This summer I want to be able to wear a bikini and not care that I am not a size 2.

I was doing quite well with my Fitness Friday segments but as the holidays grew closer, I let them fall to the wayside and all my good habits that I was starting to enjoy went to the wayside as well.  As I sit here typing, everything feels tight and squishy and I don’t feel good about it at all.  Time to get back in the saddle and do what it good for me.  Sure, I know 95% of the population makes resolutions to lose weight but this year just feels different to me.  I want to do this, I need to do this.

I also need to focus on being better to myself.  Being a Mom, I way to often turn my focus to other things and put myself and the bottom of the priority list.  That doesn’t mean I am going to make it all about me but I am going to allow myself to do things for myself guilt free.  Even if it’s a few minutes in the evening to read a book or give myself a pedicure,  I am going to enjoy that time and not feel the least bit bad about it.

My son is getting older by the second and soon hanging with Mom isn’t going to be so cool anymore.  I want to make this next period of our lives really count.  I want to enjoy our time together making memories, doing things.  Things that we both will look back on and be glad we did them, together.  What does that exactly mean?  I am not sure but we will sure have fun trying.

I am going re-evaluate what’s important and focus on those things.   So as the clock ticks closer and closer to the close of 2016, I say goodbye to what was and hello to what is to come.

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Enjoying the holidays with Bulletproof

It’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year.  But it is also one of the busiest and stressful for most people, including myself.  And with the start of cold and flu season, it is a virtual trifecta for my body to stage a revolt.  For years I have let the holidays get the best of me and by Christmas day, I am almost always sick and miserable.

This year, I have decided to not leave everything to the last minute, trying to reduce the stress and actually enjoy the holidays.  I have also decided that although I am not even going to try and “diet” through the holiday season, I am going to try and be more mindful about what I am eating.  It’s not a holiday season without treats and rich goodies, but all in moderation.

Anyone who knows me knows my day doesn’t start without a coffee in my hand.  It’s always been double cream, double sugar.  Yeah, not the healthiest way to start my day but I need my fuel.  Could there actually be a healthier way to start my day and still have my coffee?  It’s not the actual coffee that is all that bad for you, it’s all the fatty cream and sugar that make it unhealthy.

I had heard of the concept of buttered coffee before, but Bulletproof coffee takes to the next level.  By using an upgraded coffee and blending it with grass-fed unsalted butter, and their Brain Octane Oil, Bulletproof is a low toxin, high performance coffee full of healthy fats to fuel you.

Don’t get me wrong; when I first heard about it, I was skeptical on several levels.  Could I actually enjoy a coffee that didn’t have sugar in it?  How could Bulletproof do more than just give me that of energy to get my day start that my daily coffee doesn’t already do?

From the start, they use a proprietary method in their coffee production to minimize the opportunity for mold toxins to occur.  As we all know mold can contribute to a number of chronic health issues and that is the last thing I want to worry about.  Their Brain Octane Oil which really differentiates Bulletproof from other coffees, helps burn fat, is a reliable energy source without the crash and is made from 100% coconut oil.    A coffee that helps burn fat, sign me up!

It’s a little more work to make than hopping in the car and hitting the drive thru but for something healthier in my cup each morning I am willing to take the time.

After adding the Brain Octane and grass-fed ghee to the BulletProof brewed coffee you mix it all in a blender until frothy like a latte.

It was a bit of a different consistency then I had imagined, it was the oiliness from the ghee that made it different.  Not in a bad way, just different and I was surprised that I didn’t feel the need to have sugar in it.

Almost immediately I noticed that it affected me differently than regular coffee.  I didn’t feel that immediate burst of jittery energy; it was energy but not the jitteriness.  I felt more alert and ready to conquer my day.  Normally by noon, I am starving and but my hunger levels were definitely much more controlled.  And come 2pm when I normally seem to hit the wall, I was still going strong.

This past week, when I have had a busier than usual schedule due to holiday commitments and activities, this new found energy level has been more than helpful.  At the end of the day, I am not crawling into bed, I am able to enjoy my evenings and get things done.

So with only a few weeks left, I am hoping Bulletproof will continue the good it seems to be doing for me and I will be healthy and happy for the holidays.  I am looking forward to continuing to use Bulletproof into the New Year and incorporating it into my New Year’s resolution of more exercise and eating better.  With this energy, it should be a breeze.  And you should check out the Bulletproof blog to help incorporate more healthy living ideas into your routine.

This post is sponsored and although I was compensated, all opinions, comments and photos are strictly my own.

Fitness Friday – How Exercise Helps My Mood

Yesterday I woke up pissed off.  And as the day progressed my mood worsened.  Blame it on the insensitivity of people in this world, blame it on my lack of sleep, blame it on the fact the holidays sometimes get me down, blame it on the fact I haven’t been getting to exercise as much as I have wanted to lately.  Regardless, the tone of my day was set as soon as I woke up.

I felt like no matter what the day brought me, nothing was going to make my mood any better.  Sadly, on days like this, I often wish my day away so that I can wake up hopefully in a better mood the next day.  Life is too damn short to be wishing it away.  I need to do something about it but being stuck at the office all day, I knew there wasn’t much I could really do to improve my situation while there.

My son was going to be with me that evening and the last thing I wanted to do was subject him to my grumpiness.  I needed to come up with a solution before I got home.  I had to look at some of the reasons I was initially blaming for this bad mood.  I can’t really change the fact that I have had to deal with insensitive people in this world.  Although, I could just choose to ignore them.  I can’t take a nap at work, so sleep would have to fix itself that night.  The holidays aren’t going anywhere fast, so again, just ignore that as much as I can.  So the only fix that seemed to be viable was the exercise.

After a few minutes of pondering, I knew that if I really put my mind into it, I could fit in some time to exercise that evening while my son was playing a game on his tablet.  I could throw in an exercise dvd that I had and sweat away the grump.  I know in the past, exercise has always lifted my spirits when down in the dumps, so I knew it would probably help in this case.   Even just planning the exercise time made me feel slightly better.

Being overly tired when I got home, I was almost happy to wallow in my grumpiness instead of working out but that wasn’t the example I wanted to set for my son.  So I got him set up to play and I got the dvd player going.  My mood started to lift almost instantly.  That, and the fact my son was laughing at me made me laugh too.

By the end I was in a completely different frame of mind for the rest of our evening together.  I need to remind myself that as much as some days I really hate the thought of working out, I need it.  My body needs it and my mental health needs it.  When something as simple as a short workout can greatly improve my mood, there is no need to go thru life grumpy.